Too Young
by VictoriaVamp
Summary: Summer Hael is thrown into the quarter quell and the 100th Hunger Games not alone, but partnered with her father, the 76th Hunger Games victor from district 4. But when she falls in love with a district 1 boy all hell breaks lose in the arena.
1. Chapter 1

Swimming, it's where I find the most peace in the world. Just sitting out there, letting the waves crash over you and feeling yourself submerged into the ocean. It's amazing, just allowing yourself to be taken over and washing all of the bad emotions out of you like it's nothing to fear. It's nearly sunset and all of the boaters are coming back in from their long day offshore, for some it's more then one day, first time in weeks that they've had enough seafood to bring in for the capital. It can feel the water getting cooler, the wind starting to blow, tonight would be one of those nights that even bring out in my safe haven would be horrible. I left my bottom half sink into the water and wave out to a yellow boat, one that always picks me up.

The owner of the boat is a man named Meliex. He's an older man in his late forties, no wife or kids to worry about with the reaping, just one granddaughter, and always seems more then enough seafood to go around to the other workers that don't have enough for the day. Meliex is the person that you would run to if you needed a few dollars that could not be spared to get food or to pay for medical things. He pulled over to my left side about a yard off and as I swim towards the boat I can hear him laughing, knowing that I should not be out here. As I climb on board he throws a towel in my direction as he makes his way towards the front of the boat and brings the engine back to life.

" Been out searching for pearls once again, Miss Hael?" He asked as we moved, slowly, towards the shore.

" No today, just needed to get away from the sand and school." I sigh, looking towards the sunset.

" You mean from the television and from the announcement tonight?" Meliex asked.

" That too, but mostly from the stress of life around here. I mean with what year it is, all of the seafood goes straight to the capital, we aren't even allowed to buy any of it." I sigh loudly, pulling my hand outside of the boat and letting the water splash up against my hand.

" How long have you been out here pruning for?" Meliex asked as we started to come into the no wake zone.

" Let's see, they told us that the announcement would be tonight about the quarter quell was at eleven, then lunch was at eleven thirty, I got to the shore at noon. So since about then I have been swimming out as far as I could." I smiled, seeing how far that truly is.

" You have been getting faster, training I see." He said, looking back to see where I had been laying to where we were going.

" Yeah, I guess that I want to make sure that I will be prepared if something happened to Dad." I sigh, not even knowing what I would do without him.

" You know that he will last forever Summer." Meliex smiled as we pulled into our little spot on the dock, the farthest away from the actual shore.

" So what do you think that it could be this time around? A triple the amount of kids that get thrown into the arena because of the little scuffle that happened last quarter quell? Or do you think that they toned it down because of what happened the last time around?" I smiled, wanted to know everything that happened before I was even born.

" No. It will be much worse around this time. Trust me when I say that." He growled as we passed a peacemaker, and started to walk in different directions at the shore, him to his house in a smaller part of town, me to Victor's Village.

My father, Quen Hael, was the victor of the seventy sixth hunger games. It was kind of a cheat if you ask anyone from District Four though, it was based around water, the only way to survive was from a bunch of connected rivers making it's way to a waterfall. But many other districts made a good shot through the games, they had to be made harder that year just for them. I was told by my mother once that it was harder to watch her best fired kill people then to worry about him dying. Watching him shoot people down like they were fish in the ocean scared her out of his arms when he returned. That it took over five years for him to win her back, when there was a better game to talk about, and he was finally out of the lime light. There was nothing too special that he did to win her back, from what I have heard, but somehow he got her back, married her, and then, three years later, had me.

There have been a few before him that have become victor and none after him, but this year, with me and my two other sisters are all in the running to become a tribute from this years quarter quell and one hundredth hunger games. Everything will be full throttle ahead and everything will be one hundred times worst to watch it one of my little sisters get thrown in there in some odd turn of events. Too many worries about the quarter quell shoot through my head about what it could possibly be about. People have been told about the last quarter quell, but they leave a lot of holes left, blanks that have to be filled in by the elders that are still around.

" Meliex!" I shout, looking over my shoulder to see the older man smiling and looking back at me. " May the odds _ever _be in Saforia's favor." We both give a laugh and hustle in our different directions.

I sigh as I made my way down the path that not many walk down, wondering what type of scolding I will get today. I know that my father could never really place a punishment on me, since I look too much like my mother for my own good, he just usually gives me the fifth degree and tells me to never do it again. Which I always do. With a smile I walk through Victor's Village to see that along with my house, Finnick Odair is also home. He lives with his district wife, Annie another victor, and their sons Peeta and Trent. Trent is one year older then me, but being the only two _real _kids that live in Victor's Village that aren't related, we stick like glue. I dry off my hair and knock on the side window, the window that leads to the study as Peeta opens the window.

" Yes Beautiful?" He smiled a charismatic smile as he leans out the window.

" Where would your brother be?" I smile back, leaning in a little closer towards the window.

" He's upstairs, but you really don't want to talk to him. Do you?" He smiled. This was the game that we have always played, Peeta acting like we have always been in love with one another and me playing along to get at Trent's nerves. It has always seemed to work.

" Who's at the window?" Finnick says, pushing his son out of the way to see me, smiling and soaking wet standing outside. " You know that your father has been looking for you."

" Most likely for a pretty long time. Worried that I would miss the big news about the quarter quell, eh?" I smile at the beautiful man. This is where the Odair boys get their beauty from.

" Very long time. You had all of here worried that you had gone out in the ocean and god knows where you would have gone from there." He smiles. " Trent!" Finnick yells so loud that I swear it rocks the house.

" What?" Trent yells from upstairs.

" Guest for you at the window." The whole house knows it's me from just the fact of the window.

I usually come to the window, I just feel better talking there then being inside their house. The only time that you will find me in their house in the in winter, when it's much too cold to be outside. I love being outside, it's where my true home is, and being in someone else's house and being in their rules. It just makes me want to scream. Not that there is anything wrong with the Odair's family rules, just that I do not want to deal with anyone's rules. As I wait for Trent to come to the window, Peeta tells me all of the different theories that he has about what the quarter quell could be about this year, where they could place the kids, anything that really comes to mind to get a response out of me. I rest my head against the brick wall and start to think about the beach, how many better things that I could be doing there.

" Will you please leave her alone!" Trent says from the next room over, throwing something light at her older brother.

" I was just talking about dating plans with my girl here." Peeta smiles. " So after the quarter quell announcement, want to meet me by the ocean?"

" Sure, why not?" This sends a shock through both of the boys.

" Re-really?" Peeta asked.

" Not in your wildest dreams." I sigh, head already too clouded up.

" Now get out of here you little rat!" Trent smiles. " So what's up?" He asked.

" You missed some really good swimming out there today. I thought that we promised to meet up right at our spot if anything ever happened." I sigh, knowing already what he will say.

" Summer, nothing happened. They just told us that they would be telling us what would be happening in the quarter quell tonight and you flipped out and left." Trent says, swinging his legs out the window and jumping beside me.

" I just have a feeling it will be like my dream. Exactly like what my dream says." I say, kicking up some of the grass that's around.

" What? That somehow your name will be called, that you will be in the games, and that you will be killed because you wont be raised enough onto the game platform and that somehow you will drowned in water? Sounds a little off to me." Trent sighs as he looked over his shoulder, making sure that the Capitol anthem hasn't come on yet.

The way he puts it makes it seem like everything is off about my dream. It's the _realness _that makes me want to scream. The fact that I am stuck in the glass tube, no way of getting out, no way of escaping, screaming that I want out of this place, being thrown up into the air where you cannot see anyone or something besides darkness. But instead of placing me with all of the other tributes, I get thrown down into the ocean, deep, deep, down. I see the other tributes, most just watching and all they do to help is stare, but one or two diving in after me- for some reason trying to save my life. But the two start to have red water coming from every pore in their body, blood coming from where which way, making my scream, sending salt water into my lungs. I try to swim up to the top, to air, but I just keep sinking down the father I try to go. Soon I'm surrounded in the darkness and that's usually where I wake up, one of my sisters shaking me awake.

" It's different from that, you know how my dreams are." I hiss.

" No, sometimes your dreams come a little true and usually they are expected things like there will be a great catch one of the days this week or that it'll rain!" Trent hisses back.

" No. Just, no." I sigh, knowing that fighting with this boy would be too much to deal with right now.

" So how was the swim today?" He asked.

" I think that I will forever be pruned, just the way I want to be." I laugh a little.

" Just the way that almost all of the woman that work in the town are. I mean have you seen them once they come out of the water?" He asked.

The man are the ones that fish and trap things in the water, the woman are the ones that dive for things under the water. Woman are the ones that have to go deep down into the sea to find things like clams and sea snails that people in the district like so much. Woman can do it so much better then men because they have a little more body heat to be able to control the cold with, making it a little better to work with. I have never even been able to go into the ocean with the woman doing those things, I am a Victor's child and until I get married or until my father dies, I will stay in Victor Village, living the privileged life. But one day, I will be living in the town with the other people, with a possible husband, and we both will be working for our living off of the ocean.

" It's supposed to start at seven thirty." Trent sighs, knowing whats on my mind the most.

" What time is it now?" I ask, not really wanting to know.

" Seven fifteen. Want me to walk you to your house?" He smiled as he sees that it's only a feet yards away.

" Why not? It's a pretty long walk and I think that I will been all of the strength that I have." I laugh as we cross our arms into one another and march onto the street and slowly move towards the house.

" Do you ever think about what would have happened on the last quarter quell if my father would have been able to save the rebels, if they had succeeded and won, what would have happened?" He asked lightly to make sure that no one hears him make rebel talk.

" The whole world would be a different place Trent. It would be amazing and we would not be worrying about the quarter quell I bet." I smile as we keep walking towards an identical house to his. My sisters waiting on the front steps.

" I would think that we are being watched." Trent smiles as he waves to my fourteen and twelve year old sisters.

" Ten bucks says that my dad told them to wait out for me, to make sure that I have not been messing around with those terrible Odair brothers." I smile a little, nudging him.

" Well I do hear that the older one. . . what is his name. . . Peeta I think it is. . . he is a terrible person. I mean he is always flirting around with all these different woman and I mean he really thinks that he's all full of himself. Always trying to take away his younger brothers girl. What is that boys name?" He smiles back at me.  
>" Hmm. . . let me think about it for a second. . . Oh! I have it! It's Rent! Yes Rent is the other boys name!" I laugh as we walk towards the front steps.<br>" Well it was lovely to walk you this far Madam, but I think that I will go before your sisters send a trident through my heart." He laughs as he bows towards me and then starts to job back towards his house.

" Hey Trent!" I yell.

" What?" He calls back.

" If we find out that we have to be paired up for this quarter quell, you'll be the person that I run to. Because we all know that these two can't kill for shit!" I smile as I turn towards my siblings that see them shooting daggers at me. " What? I'm saving the both of you two's lives here. Be happy that I don't pick one of you." I laugh as I shake their heads and walk between them and into the house.

" Dad! I'm home!" I yell through the house, taking my boots off at the front door and looking up the staircase to see no movement and hear sizzling in the kitchen.

" Good to see that you're home Sum, pass me a little of that butter right there." He replies with a smile.

" Sure. Whatcha making?" I ask, looking at the pan.

" Fried Scallops." He says and my stomach does flips, even the smell sends me right out of the room.

" Good thing I made sure that we are stocked up on shrimp." Good. Something that I can handle.

My father is my hero, he is a survivor, not because of the games, but because of all of the hell that he has been put through since then. From losing my mother to the hunger games, winning her back, and then losing her again all because of a hurricane and no one would even stop to bring her in the boat with her. My mother still worked down on the docks from time to time, helping bring in the boats and make sure that everything was set in place, she never went out of the water. But one day she decided to bring my youngest sister, Autumn along with her, since my father was off on one of the pre-hunger game interviews, and me and my other sister were at school, no one could take care of her. Somehow Autumn had fallen into the water and my mother was the first, and only, one to dive after her. They got caught up in the storm and by the time that Meliex had gotten to the spot where they had been, my mother was gone and my sister was nearing there too. It took everything Meliex had to revive my sister and drive the boat back into shore.

" He's not even mad." I whisper as my sisters walk in.

" Too worried." Spring, the middle sister smiles.

" Oh." I sigh, giving a look back in the kitchen as I move towards the living room, finding my place in a overstuffed lounge chair and turning on the television. Turning it on sends a spark of tension through the whole house. It's too close to be time.

Soon everyone starts to file into the room together, my sisters sit in the love chair as my father scoops me up into his lap. Thought I am the oldest child, I still love to sit in my fathers lap, it's one of the only places besides the ocean where I feel safe and peaceful all in one sweep. He wraps his arms around me and holds me like I'm five again, wrapping his scent of the ocean and lavender around me. I smile as I turn to the TV and watch as Ires Snow, the President, comes onto the television.

" Good evening." My heart stops, from the way that she's smiling I can tell that she's up to something evil, it's in the way the corners of her moth crook upwards. By the time that I return to watching the television the envelope's already open. " For the quarter quell and the one hundredth Hunger Games, we will have. . . an eligible child from each victors house _and_ the victor as well, working as one team."

My heart drops. That means that Finnick or Annie and one of their sons will be going into the games, and my dad and me or my sisters will be going into the games as well. My head starts to race, I can hear someone screaming and don't realized until someone – my father- has their arms tightly around me, that it's me screaming. Soon after I'm done screaming the hyperventilating comes over me. My father will be going back into the games. Autumn just stares at the television, tears forming up in her eyes as she stares. Spring openly cries out as she throws everything off of the coffee table. I walk out of the house and head straight for the ocean.


	2. Chapter 2

" Just keep running!" A man was screaming towards me, an ally. " Common Summer, I can see the way out, just run with me! Common, take my hand!" He kept screaming and screaming.

He was trying to help me get through this deep cave almost, we were engulfed into all of it and while he could see for mile away, it seemed like all I could see was the tip of my noise in front of me. First, when I say man, I mean he is eighteen and looks like he could hoist a whole tree on top of him. I'm guessing the male tribute from district eight from the way he was built- so firm and rough around the edges. He was pulling me along as if I was a rag doll, just trying to keep my alive until the very end. But something happened, he started to scream, causing me to join along. The next thing I know I'm surrounded by water- awake and in the middle of the ocean.

" Fuck!" I scream at the top of my lungs- not caring who would hear. I had allowed myself to drift off into sleep, once again.

" You seem to know how to keep yourself afloat even when you are asleep. It's a nice trait to have." Peeta says from a distance, swimming towards me.

" Too bad I wont have it for much longer." I say lightly.

My father had already made a pact with Peeta's father over Annie- Finnick's wife, that if she was chosen to be the tribute that my father and myself would step in and be the tributes over them. But their part of the agreement would be that they would take Autumn and Spring into their home and make sure that they would always have a home. They agreed and that was the end of the conversation, since then, all of the children have been preparing for the end. Though I would never allow either of my sisters into the hunger games, I allow them to train with Peeta and I most of the time. Just to keep them from complaining to my father and letting him into my plan- he does not need to know that his oldest would become a murder victim for one of her little sisters.

" You know that I could always try to volunteer for just you. Ya know, because they would still have a victors child- just a different victor with said child." Peeta said as he got closer to me, just feet apart.

" No. You know that the capital would never allow that. The rules have been set and that's the way that they will be." I smile as I dive under the water, allowing myself to be submerged in it.

This is where I find all of my peace at. Just swimming end the water along side of Peeta, not really caring if one another's around. I dive to the bottom of the ocean and start to collect all of the different things that I can find, mostly just shells. Seeing how long the two of us can hold our breaths, just in case there is some water around the arena, we want to make sure that we can stay under for quite a long time. With a smile I watch as Peeta races for the surface for air as I stay down at the bottom, watching him from a fair until he looks back down and starts racing for me to swim up. With one last look at the ocean floor I slowly allow myself to float to the top, appearing behind Peeta.

" Yes?" I said laughing a little as he spins around as he's jumping.

" Why must you do that?" He asks while trying to catch his staggering breath.

" Because it's so much fun to watch you do that." I laugh.

" It looks like we are going to have pretty bad weather coming up. Better start swimming in before we get caught in the middle of it, out here." Peeta sighs as he starts to stroke his way towards shore.

" Ya know, if I do make it back here, we should start really dating." I say with a laugh after.

" Stop teasing me." He sighs out but with a still, very serious, tone.

" No. Really though, we both know that it should and will happen though. I mean I will have my own house in Victor Village and we could live happily together. Besides, who else would I date around these parts anyway? I don't think that I could really stand any of the crazy fishermen." I sigh as I take another deep breath in.

" Seriously?" He asks.

" Call this me asking if you will date me." I say.

" Yes."

It started to down pour by the time that we got to the shore, running for the nearest place for salvation from the rain was as small bread shop. They did not really care that we were soaking wet allowed us to huddle around the window until it seemed like it would never end outside. Peeta and I just starred at the black clouds that were outside without a word. But there seemed to be a warmness that was encasing my hand and when I looked down, sure enough there was Peeta's hand, around mine. With a smile I look back outside and just smile until we both decide that it's time to make a run for it.

" You know! This might have been a terrible idea!" I yell as the wind picked up and Peeta is fighting it off in front, still clutching onto my hand, and me behind him.

" Shut up and just stay close!" He yelled back.  
>" Where would I go!" I smile as he pulls open my door, the one closer to the road, and pulling us both inside, closing the door behind me and shoving me onto it.<p>

" I just want to make sure that you wont fly away." He smiles as he come in closer to my body.

Things that I have always known about Peeta come into view right now. His usually very light brown hair, now dripping wet and black, hanging all around his face and head. His sea green eyes starring mine down. And all of those freckles that circle his eyes and noise that become very vivid around the summer time. Those are the things that I have always known about Peeta, there was nothing that I could not tell you about his face that would be wrong. But then there is just the way that he is looking at me, like I am something that he never wants to let go of again, the way that Finnick looks at Annie. The way that his thin lips are making slight movements in and out of his mouth. And the way that he kept trying to move all of his hair out of his face as he moved in closer and closer to mine. Our eyes were locked onto one another as he cupped the back of my wet hair and pulled me in closer towards his.

" We have some spare clothes upstairs if you would like to use them till the storm calms down, Peeta." My fathers voice says from behind Peeta's back.

" Once you two have gotten dry we can start to train more!" Autumn smiles, she thins that this is all fun and games.

" We can't, it's kinda down pouring out." I smile out the window as I pull on Peeta's hand towards the staircase

" I think that they would rather like to be alone right now anyways." Spring said as she pulled her towards the informal living room. " We'll just re-watch those hunger games with the victors in them that have kids."

There were very few victors that have kids involved. Hell, district twelve only has one victor with any kids! Though all of district four and most likely very many districts think that he was only forced to get married and have kids by the capitol, we never say anything. This will be the first year that district twelve will even be in the hunger games since the rebellion tried to start up, mostly because they never had any kids that could be in the games, lucky them. But then there were places like districts one and two that were thriving with victors and children. It was like they were just raising victors in those two, like they could not care less what would happen to their children. I would never do that. So as Spring and Autumn went towards the living room, my father to the kitchen, me and Peeta made our way for the upstairs- the bedroom area.

" Are you scarred?" Peeta asked from the outside of my room as I stripped off my clothing, he always seemed to be a master of taking off soaking wet clothes.

" More then anything in the world. But you know that I wont show it." I sigh, trying to wrangle off my shirt.

" More like you can't. You know that they are already filming us." Peeta laughs lightly.

" Yeah, that too." I sigh.

" Tomorrow's the big day." He said gravely.

" Don't remind me." I say as I turn to see my mirror.

A small girl stood looking at me. Once with light blond hair with streaks of many different shades of other blonds that was starting to curl around her face as it dried. Her sea green eyes that had flakes of blues that could pierce you. All around her face were little spots of brown freckles. Her eyes were just so little shrunken in form lack of sleep and fear from everything around her. Then there was her bare body, too small for her own good, but still build very strong. She looked like someone that should be in a hospital because of her lack of body fat, but then again she had always been like that. It runs in the family. Finally I look away from the mirror and pull my hair up into a bun and throw on some dry clothes that I can find.

" So what do you want to do for tonight then?" Peeta said with a smile.

" Well I don't want to get too deep into the relationship thing, I don't want you to have the depression that will follow if I- well you know- so we can just stay up here all night and watch the storm or something." I say with a shrug as Peeta picks me up and takes me to my queen sized.

One one side on my bed is the rest of my room, from two of those sides are large windows that look out in all directions, then from the other side of a mirror that goes from the very middle of the wall all the way up to the ceiling. Peeta places me into his lap as we watch the lighting strike the ocean many different times until the lighting hits one of the power lines- leaving us in pure darkness with the only light we have to see one another in is the window. We just smile at one another as we look at one another.

" How romantic." I say with a laugh as I wrap another blanket around Peeta and myself.

" How very romantic." He says in a dark tone, poking fun at his brother.

" There is one thing that I want right now from you." I say with a light smile, blood rushing to my cheeks.

" Anything."  
>" Kiss me, just once." I say as he pulls me in, allowing our lips to meet for the first time.<p>

Some people say that there are fireworks when you kiss a person, that everything just lights up with a big bang as your lips collide. I guess that you could say that happened to us, or the fact that from outside of the house there was a large lighting strike only a few yards away from the house. But no matter what it was that had happened – fireworks or lighting, it was the most amazing thing that I had ever felt. Instead of Peeta pulling me back in for another kiss, it was me pulling him in for so many more kisses. We kissed until the night darkened the sky and everything in the house went completely silent. When we finally had enough we just stayed up talking to one anther, refusing to allow our nightmares to take our last few moments away from one another. We just stayed there and allowed each others bodies to comfort us.

" What are you going to show them if you are chosen. To make sure that they remember you?" Peeta asks as the sun started to rise.

" Something that they would never think that a girl from the fishing district would be able to do." I sigh a little, allowing my muscles to stretch a little.

" What would that be?" He asks with a little grin.  
>" To be honest. I have no clue yet, once I find that weapon that I know I can work with, they should all watch out. I mean you know how well I can learn something, so well just see what will happen." I laugh has we both pull ourselves out from one another's embrace.<p>

" I should probably go start fighting over the rights to the hot water before it all gets used." I sigh as I look over to my own personal bathroom.

" I don't really have to worry about that, all I need to worry about is trying to explain to my dad why I never showed up last night and how I could ever worry my mother like that." He laughs a little.

" You have done that to them before, haven't you?" I ask.

" More then once." He says as he starts for the door. " Wait." He makes we way back to where I had been and wraps something around my neck. " Here, I want you to wear this no matter who becomes tribute. To remember me by." He smiles as she walks back to the door and out. As I look down I see that it's a little blackish blue pearl, one of the rarest pearls there is, on a golden chain.

" Peeta!" I yell as I start to chase after him, down the stairs, and out the door. " Peeta!" I scream s I tackle him to the ground, tears freely coming to my eyes now.

" Well, well, the girl of stone is finally breaking down." He smiling lightly as he wipes the tears away from my eyes.

" Shut up." I get out before he pulls the both of us up.

" You make sure that you wear that all around the arena and when you get back, make sure that you wear it all around your victory tour as well. I want everyone to know that that's not a token from your district, but from a boy back at home those madly in love with you." He says as he pulls me in for one last kiss and then disappears into his house.

I allow the cold water to hit on my back, sending shivered all around and allowing the little bumps to appear all over my body. I really could care less, hot or cold water, cold just makes me feel more like I am where I belong in the ocean. I pull myself out and allow another machine to dry my hair before I brush it out and call it good, not really caring about the stunning looks that I may or may not have today. I just more towards my wardrobe of clothes that I only wear for the capitol and search around. I could not hate any of the dressed that were in there more then the ones that my father tries to get me to wear, the ones that he thinks that the most appeasing to the viewers eye. I just roll my eyes at all of the ones that he is trying to get me to wear and pull on a teal sun dress. It goes to about my knees and then starts to flow out from there, making me look more presentable then I could ever really want to be.

As I make my way downstairs I see that my sisters have had the same ideas as I had, not caring how they really look. Spring is in an orange dress that goes only to the top of her knee caps and some top class shoes on. Autumn has a pink dress on with her hair pulled back in a bun, she looks like she is about to cry as she grips onto Spring's hand tighter and tighter. I smile as I make me way to her other side and grab onto her other hand and give it a light squeeze. That's when my father appears, more worried then ever in his white shirt and black pants. He looks down and the three of us and then at the door, trying to keep back all of his emotions as I had been trying to do before, but he seemed to have mastered it already.

" Autumn, don't you worry, okay? We're going to take care of you. You don't have to worry about getting place out there this year." Spring whispered as we walked outside on the cobble stone.

" You don't ever have to worry about that. You're name will only ever be put in there seven times. There are so many other children that will have their names in there so much more then yours." I say lightly as Peeta and his family catch up with us, Peeta gripping onto my free hand. " Besides, you and Spring will be well taken care of, right Peeta?" I smile.

" She makes it seem like she already knows her fate." Peeta says as he rolls his eyes.

" It's bound to happen." I sigh.  
>" It's not that, I know the two of you too well. Either one of you is going to run up and make sure that I wont be thrown into this battle. Making it even worse if and when you die." Autumn says, almost sounding like she's gasping for air.<p>

" That's what big sisters are for though, protecting their little sisters." Spring said lightly.

" Besides Spring isn't going in anyway, I will volunteer for either one of you and you two will not put up any sort of a fight." I hiss.

We walk into the two square where they have roped off only two sections, one for the children and one for the victors. The square itself is in great condition, wide buildings all around with carved words in the stone. Many people had saddened looks on their faces, knowing all of the things that we have been put through, with on or both of our parents leaving each year for the games, usually all of the people bringing in to make sure that we were well protected, all knowing that we would be meeting out fates by the end of the month. All of the children give a look to their victor parents as they are roped off in a little section of rope, all holding hands with one anther. Peeta and I grasping hands with one another as he looked around.

" Too many peacemakers around. Do you think that they are expecting something more today?" Peeta asks quietly

" Maybe they think that there could be some kind of uproar if your father gets called once again." I shrug.

" Maybe." He says as he hold on tighter to my hand as a woman with an all green wig comes up to a microphone and the cameras are all turned on.

" Good morning to all!" She says way to happy to be around, the womans name is Mina Greenich. " Today we will be choosing one lucky boy or girl to be going to our hundredth hunger game!" She smiles as she waits for a moment for cheers, there are none. She walks towards the fishbowl and shoves her around around in it, picking one of our names and one of our parents, out from the middle. Well, it wasn't my name,

" Peeta Odair and his mother Annie Odair!" Mina says with a smile as the peacemakers come over and try to take Peeta out. My father and I give a look and a slight nod to one another.

" I volunteer for tribute!" We both scream at the top of our lungs, causing everyone around to look around. I give Peeta a faint peck on the lips before we are pulled away.

" I love you Summer!" Peeta gets out before we are fully pulled away, I cannot say anything before I'm pulled onto stage with my father by my side.

" Well. . . that surely is the spirit then! Here are our _new _tributes for the one hundredth hunger games and also the fourth quarter quell, Summer Hael and Quen Hael!" Mina smiles as everyone around just stands in shock of what we just did. Then we are taken to the back of the building and onto a train to our face doom.


	3. Chapter 3

No big camera crews followed us around like they used to, after our named were called that was it. We were thrown onto a train and then we were sent to the capitol. There was nothing that we could do for our families, nothing. We could not even say goodbye, we were just gone. Most likely forever. We boarded the train and we each showed to different directions to the train to find out own bedrooms. All I wanted to do was jump off of the train and go back and find Peeta. Tell him that I do truly love him back, that there is nothing that I really want more then to start a life with him. Be married, but never be idiots like our parents and have children. But there was no real way to do that, I was a piece of the Hunger Games now. A toy that they are going to use for their amusements for god knows how long before they finally allow me to die.

I stood behind the door to my room and just starred around blankly, wondering what I could have done differently to make sure that my sisters would have had a provider. They really need someone that they can look up to, someone that they have known all of their lives, to help them. Not Peeta, Finnick, and Annie, who are being forced to take care of them. Now they would have to watch their big sister and their father die, on live television. Soon after that they will have to find a place to bury the both of us, and then what? Will child care try and take them away, or will Finnick be able to smooth talk them. There was no denying that I wanted to win, badly, but there was a 1/12th chance that my father and I would be seeing this way back to district four, an even less chance that we would _both _be coming out alive. I know my father and I know that he will be protecting me with his life, I don't want him to, but I feel like I will be watching my fathers life come to an end soon before mine will.

I slid down the door, allowing myself to finally break. To show that I was truly afraid of what was out there and to allow myself to face the facts, I was going to die. I don't have anything that I'm good at. I mean I can make a net, but then again they will most likely have those in the arena for people to use. I will have nothing like the others will have, just my father. There are no real weapons that I know that I can use. My dad never allowed me near any of those as a kid, so I never even really used a trident before. Guess that soon enough I will have to start using them and getting to know the basics of killing things. No- not things, people.

" Summer, we are meeting for dinner in twenty minutes." Mina said cheerfully from the other side of the door.

" Okay!" I said, trying to recover a little.

I move to the mirror and notice that I am still in my dress and strip it right off, not really caring what I look like besides that. My eyes are bloodshot, from breaking down and crying and my hair is a complete mess. Deciding that a shower was most necessary I hop into the shower and feel even awkward in that. There was something that was very different from this capitol shower and the one that was at home. Even in the Victor's shower, there was always a slight smell of sea water that would fill the hair. The fresh smell of sea salt that would just barely get in your hair and the way that you could always tell that you lived right next to the ocean. All of that got rinsed awake with the small of new lotions and shampoo's that were being doused through my hair.

When everything was done and all of my hair was dried out, I looked like a new person. I could feel the bottom of my hair, there were not knots that were locked together with salt matted in the middle. It was all curled and parted all down the middle. I looked like someone that you would really want to be seen with, not someone that was always on the beach. Not someone that would spend endless days in the ocean, refusing to come out unless a fisher pulled her onto their boat and dragged her back to shore. But someone that could be a major player in something special. I looked like a real woman for once and not just a child.

I refused to give it any more though and moved towards the dresser where I left my necklace and make sure that it get placed around my neck once again before look in the drawers. With a deep sigh I see things that only the capitol would where, bright shades of blue and greens everywhere in the draws. I threw almost all of those clothes on the floor before I found a deep blue pair of pants and a black shirt long sleeved shirt. Knowing that there would be nothing more that Mina would hate more then seeing a girl like me in something a plain as this. It's something in the capitol water that makes them all wanter to dress up so crazy and make them want to burn people's eyes out with these outrageous colors. It must be the water! What else would it be? I laugh at these thoughts as I walk away from the mirror.

I smile and placed my hair in a ponytail before moving towards where I though would be the dinning area, but got completely lost. A peacemaker had to help me find my way to the dining area where Mina, my father, and Finnick were all waiting for me. The only thing that I could think of doing was smile and give a small wave. Which my father and Finnick both give a little laugh at, but Mina seemed to be very displeased with this. Good. The last thing that I really want is for her to be happy about _anything. _She's just another, much smaller and very little used, piece of their games. She most likely doesn't even know that she's a part of their games. I make sure to stay away from her as I move towards the seat besides my father.

" Get lost Darlin?" He smiles as he slides over a bowl for me.

" Completely, I had to have one of the Peacemakers help me find my way!" I say lightly.

" You'll get used to it pretty quickly, trust me." Finnick sighs as he sips on a little of his soup.  
>" What type is it?" I ask looking down at the bowl.<p>

" Clam chowder." My dad says with a smile. He knows that it's my favorite.

" Sweet!" I smile as I start to down it.

" So what are you guys idea for winning?" Finnick asks.

" Stay alive." I smile.

" Make sure that she stays alive." My dad replies with.

" Very good." Finnick shrugs, he knows that we will have everything planned out before the game day.

" That's where you are going to leave it at?" Mina asks

" Yep, this soup is too good to let it go cold ya know." Finnick smiles.

" Very true, Mina you should really eat up!" I say with a smile and Mina says something along the lines of " Funny people. Those are always the ones that die first."

Soon after the third round of food has ended we find our way down to the living area where the television has been set up and waiting for us. I take my seat beside my father on the couch and Finnick and Mina take the two smaller, one person, couches on either side of us. Soon enough the capitol emblem is on and they start talking about how great this Hunger Game will be. They all seem far to happy to watch innocent children and now their parents die to really know what's going on. I roll my eyes when they start talking about how diverse it will be this year and how _exciting_it will be. I want to scream about all of this, but usually I would be at home, celebrating the fact that I was not a tribute, but this year is different. Tonight we are learning all of our competition. The people that we will be forced to kill and others that we will want as our allies.

After welcoming everyone into the show they start right off with district one. Cashmere Glow and her son Marvel, a boy with short blond hair and muscles to kill with. The other two districts had nothing too special about them. Then we came on screen, them calling Peeta and Annie, my father and I volunteering and the the show of romance between Peeta and I. That announcers called t a final act of passion between for victors lovers, I call it a goodbye to remember. Then came some of the poorer districts, places that never really had many victors being the ones that did would have to really work to make sure they would survive. Some not being able to compete because they were no victors with children. Then came district twelve. It would be the first time that this district would have any children in the games since they were bombed so many years ago. And their only living victor with children? Peeta Mellark and his daughter Katniss. She looked horrified, like she may pass out at any moment. She was all of twelve, no more and no less.

" We have to ally up with them." I said lightly.

" We can add them to the Career pact." My father said lightly.

" Wait! Why in the world are we working with the Careers?" I snap around to see my father.

" Because, it's the number one way to survive." My father said lightly, it was true.

" But you never did that! You still one and you didn't true into a Career!" I hissed words like they were poison.

" Different time. Different thing to win for." He said as he turned off the television. " Now go to bed Summer, we have a big few days coming in front of us." He said with a smile as he patted my head and started to walk off.

" I can't believe he wants me to become a Career." I sigh.

" What's wrong with doing that?" Mina asks lightly.

" It's like selling your soul away. You never get it back. You are trusting people that you know that you really shouldn't but you know that it's you only real way of making it to the top six. Maye even a little farther." Finnick said as he stood up and left the area.

" Is that how you see it as Summer?" She asked lightly.

" Worse then that. It's like just saying that you cannot survive on your own and you need others to watch over you. But I know that it's the only way to really survive. So that's what I will do." I shrug as I get up from my place and leave Mina, alone.

I crawl into bed and wonder what my sisters are doing right now. Where they would be sleeping at this moment. In their own beds, safe and sound. Or it the family shelters have already come around and swept them away from their lives. Most likely not yet, they're just waiting for us to die before they do that. Or if they would be over at the next door house with Annie, Trent, and Peeta. Oh Peeta, how much I really miss you right now. I hold on tightly to the necklace around my neck, allowing the metal to cut deeply into my neck as I cry into my pillow. Allowing myself to have one last time to breakdown before I become as hard as ice.

By the time that I had fallen asleep the moon was already going down and the sun was coming up. I had no real sleep all night, like my father said that we needed. All I know was within an hour of my sleep fest, Mina was at the door telling me that we had another big, big, day and that I needed to get up. When I arose Mina had already been to the door twice and was threating to come in and drag me out by my toes, showing a more human side to her. The only thing that I did was put on a fresh pair of clothes and brushed out my hair and moved towards the dinning area, not really caring what I looked like today.

" So whats the big plan for today?" I say with a faint smile.

" Stylists, stylists, and more stylists." Finnick says with a smug smile.

" Joy to the world!" I laugh as I drag a bowl of fruits and sit next to my father. " So should I scream every time that they try to come near me with some form of wax like that girl did a few years ago Dad?" This brings a smile to his and Finnick's face.

" I think that would be very unadvised." Mina says lightly.

" You're right Mina." I say with a smile.

" Thank you."

" I should be ten times louder!" This makes Finnick and my father break out in laughter.

" But really Darlin, just allow them to do what they need to do and make you look like a weird-o and then everything will be other before you know it." My dad says with a smile.

" How bad is it going to hurt?" I cringe.

" More then anything you have ever felt in your life from one body part." Finnick says as he takes another scoop full of his food.

" Great!" I smile as I look out the window. Food not really sounding too good for my already unsettling stomach.

The next thing that i know though, we are going through tunnels, making out final trek to the part of the capitol that we will be staying in. We start to come to a slow as people start to look through the train and see that it's the district four tributes and start to wave and smile and get all happy over us like we are celebrities. My father waves back and the other thing that I do is smile from the window and pray that the train speeds up. Thankfully it does and we make out way into an odd part of the capitol. When we are let off my father and I are separated into different parts. He promises that everything will be fine and tell me that he loves me, just to comfort me. It doesn't do anything but make me feel worse.

These three people walk and and they start to strip off all of my clothes, they call themselves workers for the main stylist, Remo. They make me sit down on a chair as they start ripping off different parts of my hair all over my body. One, a woman with pink hair, start to work on my nails, making them a deep green color that seems to keep changing on her. Another, a man with purple skin, works on my body hair, ripping it all off. And the final one works on my hair, curling it even more then ti already is and placing it in many different directions all over my hair.

They seem to think that I am some type of monkey that has never seen the inside of a home or something with the way that they speak to me. I just sigh and let them pull off different parts of my body that I really just want to scream about, wanting to make them stop all at once, but remembering to allow them do what they please to me. By the time that they are done I feel raw and helpless as they all walk out, feeling very proud of themselves. I sigh as I wonder what in the world I will be wearing tonight, another fishnet suit that only covers those parts that are needed to be covered and _nothing _else. Or something stupid like a sailboat.

" Looks like they did a decent job with you." A voice said from behind, Remo I am guessing. He's wearing a decent amount of green and purple eyeliner and his hair is a light blond with all of it parted on the left side. Everything that I expected out of my stylist and more.

" If you want to call this _decent._" I say lightly.

" You must be unused to this type of thing aren't you?" He asked lightly and the only thing that I can do is nod.

" I can tell." He smiles lightly.

" So what are you going to do with me tonight? Leave me completely naked and make me look like a fish?" I sigh, know too sure about this man.

" No, but something alone those lines." He says with a smile as he walks around me.

" So what then? A shark, seal, whale? What in the world are you going to make me into?" I ask, trying to still sound nice.

" Even better then that. You see, me and my partner have been trying to figure out what in the world we could do with district four that has not been done before. Something that is over the top but still something that people would not laugh at. Something that people would remember you by." He says with an excited smile.

" So what did the two of you come up with? I am really dying to know." I sigh.

" Mermaids." He says clapping his hands together with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

" Mermaids?" I ask lightly, you have got to be kidding me. What in the world could a mermaid have to do with district four besides the fact that it has a tail?

" Well yes, you must know that it's a tall tail that if a sailor was to see a mermaid at sea that it meant that bad weather would be coming. That's what we want people to think with you, that you are bad company and to not be messed with." Remo said with a smile. " Now common, we have lots to paint and make look real."

" You are going to paint my tail on?" I ask lightly.

" Not just your tail, but your whole body. Makes it look much more real then just putting you in some kind of skirt. Trust me on that one, I saw someone try to do that years ago and it only turned out to be a true disaster." It was like he could see the look on my face because of the next thing that he said. " Don't worry your pretty little head off, you will be wearing a thin sheet of cloth over those private parts." I started to smile with that.

It seemed like it took hours for Remo to first paint a layer of red paint all over my legs, which when we were standing on the carriage were supposed to be stuck together like glue. Then came a ton of beads, to make it seem like I had scales all over my body, beads of oranges, red, blues, and a few greens, all mixed together to make a perfect tail. By the time that we were done with just my legs, two hours had passed and the sun was starting to set. It seemed like I would just be walking out into the public with only my hair or some sea shells covering my torso when Remo placed another thin layer of cloth over just my breasts and started to do the same thing with just that area. Adding beads and jewels around my body to give me an elegant look.

" You know that it was said that one Goddess, the one for desire, beauty, and love was born in the sea. What was her name. . . hmm. Oh yes! Aphrodite! You seem to have the exact elegance that she would have. The girl from the sea." Remo said as he did a little work to the eyes, saying that he was making them look smokier and more fiery all at once.

" I have none of those things as qualities." I said faintly, trying to breath through the layer of tight cloth.

" Trust me, right now, you look like you have all of those mastered and more." Remo sounded much to proud of himself then in me.

" Thank you." I said with a smile before he worked on the final bit of my lipstick before turning me around to see myself in the mirror.

I nearly gasped when I looked into the mirror to see what I looked like. No I did not look beautiful, not elegant, not even sexy. I looked like a goddess that had just come up from to sea to be seen my humans for the first time. I looked like someone that should not be messed with, someone that should not be touched, only admired from afar. With the way that my make-up blended in with some of the " scales " that had been placed on my face made me really look like I had come from the bottom of the sea. My hair was draped around my face, embracing it but never touching a single bit of it, all curled around in many directions. The only thing that was really man-made about me was my necklace, which I refused to take off of my body. When I stood I smiled as I looked down at my tail, fiery shades of red and oranges at the top which cooled down with the shades of blue and green at the bottom. I really did look like a goddess that could decide your fate with a flick of my wrist.

" Now when you get out there I want you do be fire and passion. I want you to make sure that everyone knows who you are. Wave a little, give a smile, but don't over do it. Make sure that you acknowledge the people screaming your name, but don't make it seem like you are overly happy to be here." Remo said as he placed me in a pair of tall heels.

" Trust me, I'm not. And I thought that mermaids didn't have feet, so they could not ever have heels on." I smiled as he rolled his eyes at me.

" Common, we have to get you out to the carriage." He sighed as he helped me through the area to where all of the other contestants were waiting. " So which stylizes do I have to like?" He asked.

" Two and Ones. Of course. Oh and twelve." I said looking around, where could he be? The boy that everyone will want to be seeing. Peeta Mellark and his daughter.

Everyone had their eyes on me while I had my eyes in every other place, looking around to see the two people that I wanted to get to before anyone else would be able to. But they were no where to be found, most likely waiting until the last minute to come out, so that no one would really be able to talk to them. I could highly understand that, because I was stuck talking to all of the tributes children while the Victors all spoke in a separate circle. Everyone seemed to be a little pale in the face, worried, and uneasy about talking to one another. Though throughout the girls, I seemed to be the talk of everyone there. The girls from the poorer districts seemed to be fantasized by the different textures, as if they had never seen something like it before, while the ricers ones just seemed to like it more then theirs.

" So what is your game plan, Hael?" Marvel from district one asked.

" Like I would tell you anything about it Marvel, and let everyone else here know. Common, wait until we're in the arena and see for yourself." I said with a smile.

" Well you know, if it's that body of yours, I think that you could kill us all off." Caron, from district two, and son of Enobaria Shoore.

" Well maybe you two, but I think that some of the woman may be a little harder to kill off with just my body." I say with a small laugh as the three of us look at one another and just know, we will be forced to work with one another.

" So have you seen the Rebels yet?" Caron asked, looking around.

" Who?" I ask lightly as we move away from the group, me holding onto Marvel for support.

" Oh you know, the Mellark's. I mean did you see how he pretty much threw himself on stage. He still thinks that he'll be able to find her here." Caron said looking around. " To be honest, I think that if he really tried hard enough, he'd be able to."

" Oh common, do you really think that they would keep the leader of the rebellion alive?" Marvel asked, still holding onto me.

" You guys are talking about Katniss?" I asked lightly, starting to understand.

" Of course!" Marvel stated.

" You know that it's the only reason why he's even going through all of this again. I would have ended it all the first time that I lost the woman that I loved." Caron said lightly.

" Or you know, the capitol kept him alive for the press." I said in a very hushed tone.

" Well duh, do you think that he would ever get married and have a child with anyone but her!" Marvel hissed.

" You never know, maybe he came to his senses." Caron said lightly before turning to see the others lining up. " Better get going."

" Send my best to your mum for me." Marvel said with a smile.

" Good luck to you both from me and my father." I said with a light smile. " Would you mind bringing me to my father, Marvel. I don't think that I will be able to walk a foot alone without something to help me keep upright." I said blushing a little because it was so true.

" Well of course, I would never leave a mermaid in distress." He said with a faint laugh as he slowly brought me back to my father.

" So what we the three of your talking about?" My dad said with a smile as he retrieved me from Marvel's strong arms.

" Sex, drugs, you know. The topical stuff that tributes talk about before they get sent to the arena." Marvel said with a smile.

" Nothing besides how we must meet up before the games end to do some drugs together." I said with a smile.

" That's a date." He said with a laugh as he moved towards his mother, at the front of the line.

" You ready to do this?" My father asked, as I finally got my first look at him.

He was standing there in the same type of outfit as me, looking like a Greek merman god from the past. His tail was the complete opposite as mine. Working from cool shades of blues and greens and working to hotter colors as it went upward. I smiled as I saw that there was barley any make-up on his face and he still looked somewhat like himself. It made me happy that they did not completely change everything about the man that I knew so well, not for his appearances on camera, but for himself. He still looked like my father, just with a tail now.

" Not at all." I said with a faint laugh as he brought us to our horses.

" Just remember that we are supposed to look happy, but not too happy." He said as he helped me into the carriage and held into my arm tightly.

" Happy but not too happy. Gotcha." I had no clue.

I looked on my father's face for knowledge as the horses upfront started to move forward with Marvel and Charmere taking the front. That's when I took a final glance backwards and at the very end I saw it, the same thing that they show on television every year. Two figures, on fire. I smiled as I looked forward, knowing that there was something different from when I see it on television, but still the same spark. They were re-using the idea that had been made for Peeta and Katniss so many years ago once again. District twelve has their two people on fire once again. The rebellion was still sparking hot, hotter now most likely then ever since Peeta Mellark was back inside the capitol walls. I smiled as we made our way out of the gates to see the cheering crowd screaming and cheering for us.

It seemed like someone famous was coming seemed totally unrealistic that they were really screaming all because of me and my father, but they were. I smiled a little and waved whenever my father did, listening to all of the people that there yelling for us to look in so many different directions. We were their gods, even if it was just for a few moments, they were worshiping us. I smiled and blew kisses at some and tried to catch all of the ones that were coming in mine and my fathers direction. When I took a quick glance up at the monitors I saw that my face was everywhere to be seen, no fire, nothing, just my unusual face. Usually that's where the first two districts faces are and then no one else, because that's what the capitol people wanted. But they wanted to see my face this year. I had to say so many thank you's to Remo when I get a chance. Mostly all of the females were calling out his name, not even calling out really, screaming at the top of their lungs. But still, I had my fans yells for me as well. That is, unless district twelve came through the gates, then all hell broke out.

Some people started to cry and scream, others started to cheer and started to call out their names. When I looked back up a the monitors I noticed that Peeta was no looking at anyone, just starring straight ahead with a dull look on his face, like he had seen it all before. Katniss on the other hand looked a little frightened, holding on tightly to her father for support, afraid like all of the children were. She was by far the youngest out of all of the tributes here, she was only twelve and the rest of us were at least sixteen, most eighteen. As I starred off into the monitor, they look so much alike, but there was something missing in the girl. She is not Katniss', she is not the girl that she should really be, here genes lie to her. I think back and remember how they televised the whole wedding between Peeta and his wife Carrie from the capitol. Peeta looked like he was going to break down with every word he was forced to say, knowing that there was no way out of it. How everyone keeps saying that the only person he ever loved was dead and gone. He had nothing to live for and yet was still forced to live. I wonder how much she likes going from like here, in the capitol, to life in district twelve, which I hear still has a smell of burning flesh if the wind blows right. Then a think about little Katniss, how life must be like at home for her, with parents that don't love one another, and a father with a thousand regrets.

I was nudged by my father back into reality, I needed to smile and look nice for the camera's for our final appearance before we went to training. I smiled and waved to everyone that I could, sending few kisses and receiving many more. I felt like a god that was being worshiped, because I was one for one moment. As we were pulled into the gated area I looked back at the carriage to see that people were torn between watching my father and I make our way into the gated area and watching district twelve. I smiled as I watched Katniss come to life a little, smiling and waving a little as people called out her name. She must be so scared about everything that was going on. She's just like Autumn. I wonder how she's doing back at home, getting ready to watch all of these things happen with Peeta at home.

As the gates close and we are allowed to get out of our carriages we slowly make out way not towards the house, but towards only one group. I slip off my shoes when I get out of the carriage and am able to walk much faster. We smile as they are extinguished from the flames and Peeta pats Katniss on the back lightly. He seems to be less made of stone right now and more like a person that's coming back to life. His face starts to have a little more color as he holds onto the tiny girl and tells her small things. We make our way closer and Peeta notices that we are coming and his face turns into a little more of a brighter color. He and my father must get along well then, because he first calls out my fathers name and then embraces him in a hug, leaving the daughters out to stare at one another.

" Hi." I say with a smile, waving to the little girl.

" Hi there." She said back, shy and not even looking up.

" I really liked your outfit, you lit up the night." I smile down at her, trying to make her feel more comfortable.

" I think that you look really pretty." She replied with.

" Thank you." I smile as my father and Peeta look at one another.

" Well we should probably get going, make sure that Katniss gets a good nights sleep." Peeta said as he wrapped his arm around the frail girl.

" Yeah, it's so hard to make sure that these daughters get their needed sleep and trust me, it gets harder as they age." My father said as they both exchanged small laughs as they started to walk away from us.

" Oh, Peeta!" Dad called after the two.

" Yeah?" He asked, looking back, his eyes almost glowing with happiness.

" She's still up there, fourth floor from what I know. Last year she looked so upset as every day went on, you never did show up. She knows that you are here, every year, and you still don't see her. This may be the last year to see her, you know that right?" He said, very cryptic.

" Tell her, if you can, that I'll be up as soon as I can put my daughter to sleep." He said lightly as he turned himself and Katniss around and walked into the building.

" Who are you talking about Dad?" I asked, looking completely confused.

" Katniss Everdeen. She is one of our avox's." He said lightly as he dragged me into the building.

The girl on fire was still alive? And Peeta would not see her? Why would that possibly be that Peeta would not want to see the woman that he loved so much. Before I had too much time to think about it, I was pulled in a different direction by much, stronger arms. I was spun around to see that I was facing Marvel's dark blue eyes. He seemed much happier then the conversation I was just in, which pleased me.

" You really looked beautiful out there, but the little thing is that you took all of the spotlight away form me and my mother." He said lightly with a laugh.

" I'm so sorry that your designer could not make you look this amazing." I laughed back.

" Well you know what Hael, I think that you are going to have to pay for what you did out there. You purposely took all of the attention away from us." He said with a smug look.

" Oh really, and what do I have to pay you that you don't already have, huh?" I said smiling up at him.

" Meet me up on the roof at midnight. Call it a date of some sort, just make sure that you are up there. Okay?" He said lightly.

" Fine, I'll be there." I smiled as he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and started to walk away. My cheek felt as hot a fire as he pulled away and went towards the elevator. It felt like something that I had never felt before, a kiss from a stranger.


	5. Chapter 5

I could barley breath as my father pulled me into the elevator that brought us up the the forth floor, our floor. Did that really just happen to me? Did Marvel Glow really just kiss me on the cheek and tell me to meet him up on the roof, for a date? I could not have heard him right, we were most likely going to talk about ways to win for the games anyways, nothing more and nothing less. But then again, if I _really _did believe that, then why was I blushing so hard? Why was I smile and almost giggling every time that I thought of that one moment over and over again. No, it could not mean anything to him. But to me, it seemed like something amazing had just happened to me.

I had never really had a boyfriend before, I mean living in victor's village did not make you very well likes around the town. So for awhile, it was just me and Peeta for a friendship. Everyone expected that as we got older that we would date and sooner or later we would get married, but that will most likely never happen. I mean- you could almost say that we were dating, because of the kiss and the love that we shared on our last few days together, but that was really just because it was life or death. Marvel was the first actual person that I had not known forever to really do anything like that to me, kiss me, even if it was _just _on the cheek. It gave me butterflies just to think about it, to know that someone had touched me with their lips, and somehow, it still felt a little wrong.

As we walked in, I was so caught up in what had just happened that I barley noticed her standing there. She stood with her head down, hands clasped at her middle. Her hair was chopped off right at the end of her face and she looked like she had been in some kind of altercation lately. Right before her left eye was a deep gash, it looked like it could still bleed out at any moment, swollen and red. Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire, was standing in front of me. The fire in her eyes that used to give so many so much passion, gone. The stomach that once held her and Peeta's child seemed to be so inward that it could touched it you would simply be touching paper. There was so much that I wanted to say to her, to tell her, but there was nothing that I could do all because she was an avox.

I stopped right in font of the elevator and starred for quite a long time at the girl that once used to be so strong. The girl that used to make districts rise and fall to her command, was not being commanded around by teenagers. The mockingjay of the world, the one that would never be sent away, a hero to all, was now a slave. Katniss did not look back into my eyes, just stayed right where she was with the male standing beside her. I could not think of something to do, something to say to her to allow her to know that I cared. But then again, how much could you really care about someone, when you were on your way to certain death? My father came back in to see that I was still standing there, mouth opened and eyes wide, starring at the girl.

" Common, there is nothing that we can do now." He whispered as he lightly grabbed my arm.

" Just one thing." I whisper as he start to bring me through the blue shaded rooms.

" He'll be coming tonight." I whisper as we pass the two. I turn to see that her eyes have lighten right up as shes now stares at me.

" I hope that she knows about the terms of these games." My father sighs mostly to himself.

" Me too."

" Come in, come in. They will be showing it soon!" Mina said with almost a cheeping tone.

" We don't even get to have dinner first?" I ask, looking back to the dinner table where Katniss had just been, both were gone and setting up.

" Oh no, we will be watching this, then you two can get all of that off, then dinner." Mina said with a smile. All I wanted was some food in my stomach and then to act asleep for a few hours.

" Fine." I sigh.

The show started with the symbol of the capitol, then two people came onto the Television and started to talk about what a hot Hunger Games this was going to be, how many stars had risen out of these games already. I roll my eyes as they start to show the footage of the people coming out. Starting with Marvel and his mother. How strong they looked as they came out in jewels and furs, looking so strong and so sure of himself. Then Caron and his mother came out, they were in some sleek form of stone and also had a fake form of a weapon in one of their hands. District three looked like some form of robots.

They were did not have a lot of time on the screen before they were booted off and then we were on. We looked so different from the people that we were are. My father looking like a god from some other planet, me looking like his beautiful daughter, the princess of another world. We really did look like mermaids that would lure you into the water with their beauty, but then drown you in the water for the fun of it. Smiling and waving to some of the crowd and then to others we would not even acknowledge. Remo did an amazing job with everything that was on our bodies, from the top to the bottom I could not believe how well we looked. No one else really made a splash till last, the duo on fire. Bringing tears to many peoples eyes.

" Well wasn't that nice?" Mina asked as we all stood from our places on the couches.

" If that's what you want to call it." I hiss as I move down the hallway. " Which one is mine?" I yell.

" The keep going straight, it's the last door in front of you!" Mina calls back.

I walk in and smile, it almost seems like home, from the way it smells of the ocean breeze to the sheeting on my bed, a light blue. It seemed like they were really trying to bring the district form to everything around here. Blue walls, blue sheets, everything seemed to be blue around here, I guess that because we are the ocean district that blue would be linked to it. It feels like someplace that would be in one of the victors homes, besides the fact that there were no windows. All I wanted to do was crawl into my bed and wake up to have Peeta laying next to me, but sadly, he is miles away from here. I walk into the bathroom and just allow all of the beads to come rushing off of me and then, like sugar, simply vanish under the water. Soon enough I was back to my old self, no make-up, no nothing. Simply old me once again, who was later for dinner.

I sat up on the roof, waiting for Marvel to come up, worried that he had ditched me and made up this plan to make me look like a fool all along. But it was too peaceful up here to really care about him leaving me or not. It seemed like there was nothing that you couldn't see from the top of the building. All of the capitol was all around me and from every angel there was something new to see, from the people partying, to the stores, to the fields with nothing in them. No matter what way you would turn there would be something new to see that was not in the other section. I could have stayed up there all night, if it wasn't for the person that was interrupting my peaceful trance.  
>" You know, I really thought that you would not show up." Marvel said with a smile. " Thought that you wouldn't trust a guy like me."<p>

" Oh and why would that be?" I smiled back from my place on the edge of the roof.

" Well maybe it's because in a few days we will be put in an arena together to kill one another, maybe it's because you barley know me, or maybe it's just because I thought that you would be too beautiful to come up here to meet a guy like me?" He smiles as he looked down to the ground. " I guess I was mostly thinking that it was because of that last one."

" You really don't know me then." I laugh a little into the air.

" Why would you say that?" He asked as he sat down next to me.

" Can you see me in this light? There is nothing to amazing about me, really, it's just all the way that they did me up that made me look so amazingly beautiful. I'm just plain old me now." I smile a little. " But a little fuller then I normal am. See I'm trying to gain weight because soon I'll be thrown in this place where I'll have no clue how to even get a hold of any food!" We both laugh together.

" Really, no way! Me too!" We both start laughing even harder now. " So you really don't think that you are beautiful like this?" He asks, turning the subject.

" No, not really at all. I mean I'm not saying that I'm ugly or anything, just that I'm kind of plain. If you could see some of the girls in my district, the way that they hold themselves up and their striking features, you would know that theres nothing to special about _me_." I sigh.  
>" And you don't think that in the wealthiest district in the world that I don't know my fair share of amazingly beautiful people? No, I really do, and you my Dear, are one of the prettiest girls that I have ever seen." He said starring straight at me.<p>

" Thanks." I smile, doubting every word that he's saying though. " So what are we doing up here anyways? Shouldn't we be getting our rest for training?" I smile.

" I guess that we should, but I thought that it would be much better to spend some of the night with a gorgeous girl instead." He smiled back at me.  
>" Well I don't know who you are waiting for, so I guess that you're stuck with me. What shall we do up here anyways?" I smile a little wider, knowing that he is complementing me.<p>

" Maybe we could just talk for a little while, help each other to calm our nerves down a little. If you are anything like me then we are both freaking the hell out." Marvel said as he looked down at the ground below us.

" You, scared?" I ask lightly as he just nods. " Huh, I would have never thought of you to be the scared one."  
>" Why would that be?" He asked.<p>

" Well you just seem to be so strong, so confident. I guess that I just thought that you would have a full knowledge of weaponry and that you would just be fully prepaid for going to battle. What I'm saying is that your mom would have trained you to be ready for this day." I say, trying to not make him upset.

" She tried, but every time that she would even try to train me, she would get too upset thinking about it and would walk away. She never really liked the idea of having me go into the arena and facing a different fate then hers. She hasn't even let me train for awhile. " Marvel said, looking down at the ground. " She never really wanted to lose another child to the games."

That's when it hit me, Marvel was not the first of Cashmere Glow's children to be thrown into the hunger games. Two years ago, his older brother Vex Glow was in the games. He made it all the way to the top two, making everyone think that he would be the victor for sure, as he was going up against a little girl from district seven. She was all of maybe thirteen and was a half the size of Vex, run could run faster then anyone I had ever seen before. So when the sent a type of mutation on the two of them, the little girl ran father and faster then Vex could ever dream of. As the mutt tore Vex into pieces, the little girl ran up the tree and hid from all of the mutts. The cannon fired before the little girl to even have the time to kill him herself. The little girl looked so scared as she came down from the tree, in the showing of what happened days later, and in the interview. I doubt that she will ever be the same. It must have killed Cashmere to have her son make it so far and then have his life be pulled away from her, yet again. Now she has to go through it once again, but her life is on the line as well.

" She must be heartbroken right now." I whisper.  
>" You have no clue, but from what I hear, your family isn't doing that well either." Marvel says back, taking a hold of my hand. " I'm sorry about your mother."<p>

" It happen a long time ago, I barley remember any of it. A white casket, the island where we bury our dead, and the only time that I ever saw my father cry. But thank you." I say lightly. " Sorry about Vex too."

I remember some of the things that happened at the wake though, some things that I had wished would have never happened. My father crying into the arms of Annie, who for once was holding her own very well, my sisters not understanding anything that was going on, and seeing her so still and so pale. The way that I never wanted them to cover her up with dirt and the sent her into the ground, how I thought that she was just sleeping. How we all threw some flowers over the closet casket and then they started to throw dirt over her, which caused all three of us girls to go a little crazy inside. It meant that our mommy was really gone, none of us were really to face that fact. Then the rain, how we had a terrible storm that made us race over the water to get to the main land before the storm really caught in. Then a terrible thunderstorm that came over all night long, all three of us girls sleeping with our father, Autumn and Spring trembling between Dad and myself. All I could think about was how mother nature was trying to pull away my mother and how she was fighting to come back to us. It made it almost feel better.

" Thanks, we really did think that Vex was going to win it all. But then again we knew that he would never really be able to kill that little girl like that. We were kind of worried that she would kill him before he would strike up the nerve to kill her. I understand why he couldn't do it, I doubt that I could do it with the little girl from twelve-"  
>" Katniss." I state.<p>

" the little girl Katniss. I mean they are just too young to be out here anyways. We all are if you ask me, we would never be able to sign up for the army, to be a peacemaker even if we wanted to be. So why send us to battle against one another?" He asks, looking deep in thought.

" For their entertainment and to keep everyone afraid." I say lightly.

" Exactly." He says as he still holds onto my hand.

" So I'm guessing that me and you will be allies in the arena?" I almost state more then ask.

" Even if we both weren't from Carree districts I would make sure that you were on my side, be allies with you." Marvel said with a smile.

" Now why would that be?" I ask as I rub my thumb over his.

" Because I doubt that you would be able to take care of yourself out there, no matter how much Daddy tries, you still need someone like me." He says with a very big smile.

" Oh really?" I laugh as he nods. " You're probably right." I laugh with him.

" So who else do _you _want with us. There's me, you, and Caron. Anyone else?" He asks.

" Katniss." I state. " She's too little to be out there alone and I really don't know why. I guess that she just seems like my sisters, something that I have to take care of and because there just something about her and Peeta that attracts me to them like glue. Like there will be sponsors lined up." I say with a shrug.

" Then we will have district twelve work with us as well, that will take a lot of work to convince Caron about, but with a little talking to, I think that _we _will be able to do it." Marvel says as he stands up, dragging me up with him.

" Us? Why can't you just talk to him, it seems like you two have already stuck up a pretty tight friendship with one another." I ask.

" Well you seem to have a better convincing rate with him then anyone does. I mean anyone could tell that he was hitting on you tonight." Marvel says with a little bit of a hiss to it.

" Well so were you, it seemed more like just for the fun of it then really anything else." I shrug as we both move towards the door.

" Well it wasn't he was hitting on you so hard." He smiled as we made our way inside and to the elevators. Bring brought down floor to floor.

" I guess that this is were we part for now." I say with a smile as the doors open to my floor.

" I guess so, goodnight. Aphrodite, goddess of beauty." He said as he lightly kissed me on the cheek again and left. I was so in the moment that once agian, I barely saw Katniss standing there near the door, waiting.

" He didn't show up?" I ask, almost heartbroken for her as she shakes her head.


	6. Chapter 6

" How in the world could he do that to her?" I yell at the top of my lungs to my father, who is eating breakfast with Finnick. " I mean you would think that he would like to see the love of his life one final time before being sent to his death! You would think that he would want to tell her all of the things that are going on since she has on real clue! Why would he do that to her? She doesn't deserve to be treated like that!"

I want to scream at the top of my lungs, I want to put the twelve button of the elevator and give Peeta Mellark a piece of my mind. How on earth could anyone do that to someone that they loved. Allow them to think that they would be showing up for the final time and then just stop them like that! Why? The whole night my father had to keep me from slamming the button to the elevator and screaming my lungs off at him, waking up every district and their children, and throwing Peeta off of the top of the roof. Yes, I know that there was no way that I could _really _throw him off of the roof one, because he is a _beast_, and two, because they have a field around the edge of the whole roof to make sire that no tributes try and jump off. It would be a failed attempt, but I would feel a lot better then I do right now about this whole thing. All I want to do is scream my head off and then cry for Katniss.

I kept breaking things and then refusing to allow Katniss to pick them up, all because I wanted her to stay in the room with me. By the time that I was done with my rampage, there was only the lights of the top of the ceiling left for light and my wardrobe mirror was shattered to pieces. There was no hope to end my anger once it's started, it just does on and on. Finally, somehow, Katniss got me to calm down, without saying a down I broke down. I cried until there were no more tears coming out and the only thing that I was doing was sobbing and almost hyperventilating.

Without really knowing that I was doing it, I was clutching onto the girl on fire, sobbing into her body, telling _her _how sorry I was. I felt like a fool, crying into her arms, having a mental breakdown, and she was allowing me to! She was smoothing the top of my hair and patting it back and giving little unknown, but calming, noises. I kept sobbing and dry heaving until I was silent, when my whole body just went completely numb and there was nothing I could do but breath in deep, choppy, breaths and try to get into bed. I wanted to say a thousand things to Katniss, but there was nothing that would come out because of the way that I was breathing. She stayed right by my side until I fell into a deep slumber, which did not come easily. Then when I woke up this morning, like nothing at all had happened, all of the broken glass that had been on the ground was picked up, and everything had been replaced. Like I said, I was in a deep slumber.

" I still care about Katniss, she is too little to be out there all by herself, but once it really gets down to it, I'm going right for Peeta's neck. I don't give a damn about it, but he will be the first one that I _really _go after." I hiss, pacing around the dinning room.

" You know that he's a good man Summer. He is just trying to keep his mind straight." My father said lightly.

" I don't give a _damn _about why kind of _man _he is! He is _pathetic _and spineless. He can't face the one that he loves and tell her that he will probably be dead in a few days, can't tell her that he had a child with another woman and is _marry_? His mind with never be straight again! The thing is that he wont have a mind in a few days, might as well get his _love life _straight!" I yell.

" I named my second son after him." Finnick says. " You know, the one that you are in love with."

That silenced me, I could not think of anything to come back to with that. Finnick knew everything that had happened in those last few hours back in district four and knew how much we cared for one another. For a long time all I did was stand there, and think about a way to come back to that, but the only thing that happened was me thinking about Peeta. How he was back at home, how he was holding up with my sisters standing beside him. If he was training with them just to keep their minds off of what would be happening in a few days, to keep their spirits up. My heart turned a little, how much I missed him was killing me inside.

" I miss him." I whispered as I sat on the other side of the two champions.

" Good morning!" Mina said as she entered the room and sat down beside me. " Are you two ready for training?"

" I'm not going, I know everything they will be showing to the tributes and from everything that I know none of the parents will be going." My father said without looking up form his sliced fruit, scared to see her reaction.

" What? But don't you really need to catch up on everything, all of the weapons down there?" Mina said, a panicked tone coming towards her.

" No." My father replied with.

" I agree with him. I doubt that the champions really need to practice killing anyone, while the children will be the ones that need all of the work." I said.

" Agreed." Finnick said with almost a smile.

" Well what will all of the parents be doing then?" Mina asks.

" Most will probably sleep, eat, and waste away their lives. But districts one, two, four, and twelve will be debating what we will be doing in the arena. What will we do to keep our Kiddo's alive." My father said with a smile. " So I will be heading down to the district one living space for awhile."

" You can really just go from living space to living space like that? During the day?" I ask, looking around.

" Well it is looked down upon, but yes, you can." Finnick said. " As you mentor, I would recommend that you would not, but I cannot stop you." He smiled.

I started to stab down on my fruit, trying to get as much food into my body at little amounts of time because I knew that there would be one them one course, no matter what happened, there was always more then one course. As I started to get full I excused myself into my bedroom to get prepared for what was to face me today, but had no real clue what would happen. I just sat on my bed for the longest time and wondered how I was going to impress the judges in a few days, what types of weapons I would be best with, and which I would completely fail at. How in the world was I going to learn something new in such little time, to master it? I fell onto the bed and close my eyes, I was going to die in a few days. Hell, I may be one of the few few to go in the blood bath. Yeah, that will be me, the mermaid stuck on land, gasping for air.

I strip down all of the clothes that I have on and take a shower, allowing everything from the past day to just wash away from my body. I needed to have a clear train of thought if I was even going to make it to the blood bath. I was now a Carree, I had to think and act like one. I let everything wash away in the warm water and tired my hair up into a ponytail as I went back into the bedroom to find that there was a new outfit placed onto my bed with two notes placed on top of one another. With a small pin sitting beside of it. The one on top was addressed to me, so I opened it and was shocked to see the pin that was laying beside of the letter.

_Summer,_

_ Please give the other note to Peeta's daughter. What most people don't know is that I gave birth to her here, in this training area twelve years ago. We were both being held prisoner after what happened at the last Quarter Qurill and for awhile we both thought that we would die. But they wanted us to have the child we promise the Capitol, though she was a few months late, she was born here, in the capitol. The capitol used her against us from the moment that she was born, saying that if we started another rebellion that they would kill her. From the moment that she was born Peeta and I were in love with the small girl, knew that we would do anything for her. _

_ The capitol has said that I have been dead for years, that I died that night in the Qurill. But now you know differently. The daughter that is known as Katniss is really mine, not that make believe bride of Peeta's. From what I have been told, she has my eyes. It most likely breaks Peeta's heart to see that everyday. I don't know how he is surviving on the outside world, but it most likely is worse then my time in here. I was giving the choice, stay here, become an avox, and live out my life as a servant, or to be the one that takes care of the girl her whole life. Of course I would chose Peeta's life over mine. I love him. I doubt that he will ever forgive me for doing that. But I knew that he would be the better father._

_ Please give the pin and letter to her, I know that she knows the truth now and she is most likely in complete disbelief. Just allow her to read these letters and have the Mockingjay pin, make sure that she wears it out there, in the arena. You know how much luck if gave me out there, maybe some of the luck will rub off of her. I pray that it will. _

_Thank you._

_Katniss Everdeen._

I sat there and wondered what in the world I was supposed to really do. Should I tell the small girl who her mother really was, break the news to her in a thousand pieces, right before she would be going into an arena to die? I had to though, this was a mothers final wish for her daughter. I had to give her at least the pin, if I didn't think that the letter would be the best thing, then so be it. I slowly get dressed and read and re-read everything on the page, wondering what in the world the other letter could read. I slowly got into what felt like a jumpsuit around my body, hooking the necklace back to it's rightful place around my neck and stuffed the letter and pin into my pocket and walking out of the room.

She was standing there in the corner, cleaning up the remainders of the breakfast, and looking up to see me standing there. I gave a small nod and looked down at my pocket before turning the corner and seeing my father on the couch. I wanted so much to just sit there next to him, to curl up into his side and just never leave that place. But I had to be a big girl today and learn how to survive in the wild, to be able to kill for entertainment. I gave one final look over to where he was sitting and stopped making my way towards the door.

" Hey Dad?" I asked.

" Yeah Kiddo?" He replied, looking over his shoulder to see me.  
>" Any advice for out there?" I asked.<p>

" If you find something that you are really good at, practice it until you have mastered it, and then just leave it there. Don't let everyone see what you are good at, leave that for judging." He said with a faint smile.

" Okay Dad, love you." I said as I started to walk towards the door.

" Love you too Kiddo. Good luck." He said with a tone I have never heard before, it almost sounded like regret.

We were all standing in a row, all of the children, looking up at one person who was going over all of the different set-ups that we could go to. I looked around, looking at all of the different weapon places. That would be the first place that I would hit. While all other other Carree's would be learning things like building forts and what types of berries to eat, I would have to learn things that they have known forever. I knew how to build things from bare hand, it was something that my mother used to teach me and Spring on weekends. It was killing people that I needed a little guidance on. While Caron went straight for hut building, I moved my way towards knife throwing and Marvel followed.

" So whatcha got in your pocket?" He said with a smile.

" Oh, I'm just happy to see you I guess." I laughed as I made it to the station.

" So why are we here?" Marvel asks as he picks up a knife and throws it at the target, clipping the shoulder.

" To get a better aim with knives." I smiled as I throw the knife and hit it on the third ring closest the the heart. I stand there in shock.

" Wow." Marvel said lightly

" Yeah. Wow." I reply.

For about a half hour we throw knives at the figures that they have lined up until I have each and every hit directly onto the heart. It feels like something that I have known all of my life for some reason, like something that could do in my sleep. I love the feeling of having something that I am good at. Soon the man at the station is having the figures move around until I have mastered that, I can hear some people behind me, talking about many different things, until each and every one is talking about me. I want to look back at see them, but I am having _way _to much fun with these knives.

" I think that is enough for _this _station for today." Marvel smiled as he pulled us away.  
>" Why? I was getting so good!" I sigh as he pulls us closer to Caron.<br>" Because we want to save a few surprises for the actual games." Marvel whispered as we found Caron at the painting station, trying to make himself into camouflage.

" You look like. . . you know what. . . I don't even know. You look terrible." I smiled at the boy, covered in greens and browns. He looked nothing like the background behind him.

" Shut up beautiful." He smiled back at he started to wash it all off. " I doubt that I will really need this station anyway. With the three of us and our parents, we will be taking out all of these people within the first day anyways." He laughed as he looked around.

" That's what we need to talk to you about." Marvel said as he nudged us around to an open station, knots.

" Oh, yeah." I frown but followed the others to the station.

" Whats up?" Caron asked as he picked up a piece of rot and tried to make the different slipknots they had.

" We want to add another person to the group." I said lightly.

" A sponsor hog." Marvel added.

" We think that the Mellark's would be a great addition to get all of the sponsors onto our team. I mean yeah, there would be no one from their district giving us stuff, but the people in the capitol _love _them more then any of us. So we keep them around for awhile and as a final goodbye to one another, we knock them off first." I whisper lightly, talking like a true Carree. I hate it.

" Fine. But I get to knock off the the real rebel." Caron hissed.

" As long as I can have a first rip at him. Then he is all yours for the taken." I said back.

" Perfect. Then all we will have to do take care of is the little girl." Caron said with a smile, looking behind us. " How has been following you two around like a friggen shadow may I add."

" Well what can I say, I have fans even here." I laugh as I flip my hair.

" Fans you do have." Caron said as he grabbed my hand and kissed it.

" Well we should most likely get back to real training." Marvel hissed, looking down at my hand, looking to my face. I could feel the blood rushing to it again, too many kisses on way to many body parts for my liking.

I pulled Katniss away from the group as everyone was walking towards the elevators. She was afraid of what I was going to do to her, most likely thinking that I was going to yell at her for following us around all day. But I wanted the complete opposite for her, she was too small to be yelled at and looked to much like my sister for me to do anything against her. I tried to talk softly to her, allowing to her stop shaking and try to get everything out before the Peacemaker's would pull us away. The very first thing that I do is pin the Mockingjay to her shirt. Telling her that it is a gift from a very special person and she should wear it into the arena.

" I also have this for you." I hand her the letter. " Open it when you are alone, okay?" I ask and she nods.

" So she is really alive?" Katniss asks, barley looking up.

" Yes. I think that she really loves you too." I say lightly.

" I know that, Dad tells me that every night." She looks up lightly.

" You know that you can come over and train with the three of us. You are welcome to join us." I smile at the small girl.

" Really?" She almost jumps in joy.

" Yes." I laugh a little at the girl.

" But I'm a little afraid of the big one." Katniss says.

" Who? Caron?" She nods.

" I promise, with all of my hearts, that I will not allow him to hurt you. Ever. I will make sure that he will not lay a hand on you. No matter at what point in the game, he wont." I say as I grab onto her hand. " I'll protect you, Girl on Fire."

" Me too." A strange voice says from behind. Marvel's voice.


	7. Chapter 7

The training had come and gone within what felt like hours, and I had tried almost everything that they had to offer around the area. I had some things that I was good at; knives, spears, and making things out of rope. But then again there were things that I was terrible at as well; the bow and arrow, making a tent, and making a fire. Most of the other things were neutral, I could do some of them with my eyes closed and others I had to really think about doing. Like making water drinkable, I had to think about how many drops to put into the liquid and how long to wait before drinking it. But I was good at things and I knew what I was going to do, I had all of the things that I would show the judges about.

Marvel stood right beside me while we waited for everything to be settled and to be ready for him and his mother to go in. First would be the parents, acting like what would be the gentlemen from each district, and then the children would go after their parents. Nerves stop through me, fear as well, I thought that my stomach was going to come up and eat my heart. He griped onto my hand as his mother went in before him, not even saying goodbye to him before she went in, he even refused to let go when my father walked by.

" Just about fifteen more minutes then I will be going in there." He sighed as he slid down the wall, dragging me with him.

" You'll do fine, Marvel." I said, rubbing my fingers over his hand. " What are you going to do in there anyway?"

" I don't know, maybe light a fire in there, burn everything to the ground." He laughed lightly.

" Good idea, let me help you!" I smiled as we looked at the door, there were no sounds coming from there.

" So are you going to the party tonight, well, if you are chosen?" He asked.

" What party?" I was so confused.

" Mom tells me that every year they picked the top three tributes to go to this party after the interviews. Only the top three with the best scores get to go to this party and as long as their mentors allow them to go." Marvel smiled. " It's kind of like giving the other tributes a chance to survive in the arena because they try so _damn_ hard to get the top three overloaded in food and on alcoholic beverages. Usually it works but just enough to slow down the top three, never killing them in the blood bath."

" So what you are telling me is to eat and drink nothing while at this party. Which I wont get into." I laugh, thinking about going to an amazing party.

" Well what are you going to to?" Marvel asked.

" Weaponry." I state.

" Oh good idea." We both laugh because we know, everyone will be doing that.

" You two ready for this?" Caron asks from his spot above us, jumping around.

" What in the world are you doing?" Marvel asked. " Trying to show off again?"

" As a matter of fact, yes, I am. Summer have you seen these abs yet?" Caron asked, pulling up his shirt to see a little six pack forming.

" Nice." I said, confused on why he was doing this.

" I know right." Caron said with a smile.

" Scared yet, Shoore?" Marvel said as he placed my hand in his lap.

" Not a chance." Caron hissed out.

" What are you going to do?" I asked, trying to get back into the conversation.

" Whatever feels right." Caron smiled down at me with a wink.

" Meaning he has _no idea_." Marvel laughed out.

Thats when they called him into the room, he stood up, kissed the top of my hand, and left for the room. He looked back right before he want into what used to be the training room for his time in the spot light. The Carree's always got to be viewed the most, they were always praised by the judges and could never do anything wrong, and never get lower then a seven as a total score. Marvel would be a top player, someone that would be a person to watch during the games, he would be going to the party. I would be getting a seven, if at that. I waited in silence on the ground, hoping that everything would go according to plan.

" You know, I think that you have all of these girls here beat. Hell, I think that you could take of some of the adults with your knifes." Caron said with a smile as he sat down where Marvel had just been.

" Thanks, you're pretty good with just straight up hand-to-hand combat." That was a lie, he was _amazing _at hand-to-hand combat. " I would hate to have to come up against you in a fight."

" Same with you. Doubt I could really hit a pretty girl like you." Caron said with a smile.

" Well it's a good thing you most likely wont have to. I'll be hitting the hills once it's the eight of us left." I laughed out.

" I'll have to allow you to." He smiled back. " My mom will probably kill me for it, but I would just allow you to walk right away from us in a fight."

" Why?" I asked.

" Because Summer, I like you." He shrugs as he gets up. " Mom'll want to see me before she goes in. Ya know, the pep-talk kind of thing."

" Goodluck Caron." I said with a wave.

" You are well, Sum."

They started to call, name after name, and I knew that soon it would be my time. The district three child was in doing who knows what while we all waited. My father finally came and sat down next to me, hands wrapped around one another and starring off into the distance. His eyes were someplace else, someplace that seemed like a million miles away. He looked a lot older, stress had taken a toll on him. His once brown hair looked to be graying on the top and there were bags under his eyes. By tomorrow night everything would be on place with his man and he would look like the father I had known back in district four, but with most likely a little more sex then a fatherly outfit.

" Just remember to show them everything that you've got. Okay Kiddo?" He asked as his name was called, playing around with my hair a little.

" Everything I've got." I repeated. " Everything." By the time that I was pacing around the door, someone else decided that it was safe enough to come and stay beside me. It was Katniss.

The rest of the time that we were training she was right at my side, never saying a word. Though she was waring her pin like it was attached to her skin, I would never ask what the letter read. She would just play around with whatever we were working on, doing it perfectly, and then would go along with what Marvel, Caron, and I were doing. Katniss was a very quit person, someone that if you did not know she was there, it would seem like she would just disappear. There was an even sadder look in her eye now then there had ever been, something in that letter really made her hurt.

" You will be perfect." She whispered.

" Thank you, you will make her proud." I smiled, looking down at her, she looked so young.

" I'm scared." She refused to make any eye contact.

" Of the judges? They never matter anyway. Just give them all that you have got and make sure that they notice you. Give them something that they have never seen before." I smiled, wishing I would have thought about that earlier.

" No, it's not them, I have everything planned for them. It's the rest of _these _people. Knowing that would of them will be taking my life out there. That I will be forced to take some of their lives to survive. I'm just afraid to go into the arena." She whispers.

" I wont let any of them take your life, if you don't want to then you don't have to kill until it's time, you will be safe with us. I'm going to make sure that nothing will happen to you." I say brining her into my body and hugging her tightly.

" Thank you." She whispered.

" Summer Hael." A voice announced and the doors opened.

" Gotta go. Give them all that you've got, little Girl on Fire." I said with a wink and a smile on my face.

" You as well, Aphrodite." People in the capitol knew me as that.

I could feel my heart being pulled away from me as the doors closed behind me and I was left, alone with the judges looking down at me. I gave a faint smile to them as I went over and grabbed as many knifes as I could in each hand and started to throw them at the dummies that had a full body. Moving back with every knife, soon I was on the other side of the whole room, throwing knives and hitting the dummer right on the bulls eye. I thought that I was going amazing, that there was nothing wrong with what I was doing, but the judges seemed a little bored with what I was doing. I sighed, they wanted more out of me, they craved more from Aphrodite.

I threw the rest of the knives that I had all at once, but all hitting different dummies, though some of them would be able to get away, if the dummies were real people, most would have pretty bad wounds. I moved to the spear, chopping off limbs off of one of the dummies, hitting the person with the butt of the spear and them chopping off body parts with the other side. I was turning in a cold hard killer, this seemed to make the people starring down at me happy. They looked like hawlks trying to pick out which little mouse they would each like to rip off a piece of. I smiled as I quickly made a full net out of some rope that had been lying around and slung it at one of the bodies that had been in the way and pulled it towards me. But that was all that I had, nothing over the top, nothing to really wow them with.

" Thank you Miss Hael, that will be all." The head person, Viktor Smith, said from his spot.

" Thank _you_." I smile as I wave, a different door opening. I tilt my head down and walk out of the room. _Failure _hitting me.

" There's my girl." A male voice says from the other side.

I was shocked when it was not my father standing there, but Marvel waiting for me to come out. He gripped onto me and pulled me into his rock hard body. I allowed myself to be pulled into him and that's when I really noticed that I had been shaking the whole way through that. I could not believe that the only thing that I could get out was a few good knife shots, some fighting, and a net. Some of the other people like Caron most likly broke apart a dummy with their bare hands, and I was over here making a net and stabbing things. I must seem liek a baby compared to them. I could hear Caron's laughter from ther other side of the room.

" You know that district three is gone?" He asked.

" Yeah, I still want to comfort her." Marvel hissed back, holding on tighter to me.

" What are you two talking about?" I asked.

" Nothing." They both stated at the same time and then laughed.

" Seems like you two have relieved some tention and have been able to become good buddies once again." I smile, happy that everything has settled out so well.

" We're all metting up in my area to watch the scorings together." Marvel said as he took my hand and brought me over to the elevator.

" Are we allowed to do that?" I asked, looking from face to face.

" We are the Carree's, we are allowed to do anything we want." Caron laughs as he hits the botton to shut the door and hits ths botton to one.

" Wait! We forgot about Katniss!" I yelled out.

" They know that we are all getting together, they'll be comming after they are done!" Marvel said with a smile as he rubs my hand.

When the doors open it seems like something out of a dream. Everything is so elegant that it just feels like something out of a movie. All white and gold everywhere, furs and paintings, everything that a person could want. I could feel that my mouth was wide opened, but could not shut it. Everything was placed in the same area as in my room, but it was all so different. They had a much larger, most likly white leather, couch, which all of the parents were sitting on, waiting for us. It seemed like something that you would find in the presidents house, or even better then that.

" Yeah, this place is like home." Marvel said with a smile as he brought me over to the couch.

" _This place is like home_." Caron mimiked in a higher tone. " Is this anything like your place?"

" Nothing, mines all ocean and sea." I whispered. " Yours?"  
>" You don't wanna know." He smiled as he sat down on a couch near his mother, Marvel ground me to an open spot and sat down beside me.<p>

" So how do you think that you all did?" Cashmere asked.

" Alright, but they seemed bored." Caron stated.

" For your too, huh?" I smiled, happier about this. " Well now I feel a little better."

" You probably did amazing." Marvel smiled.

" Hopefully." I whisper.

We all talk about many things that we did while we wait for the scoring to come onto the television. It seemes to take an eternity from Peeta and Katniss to show up, but when they do, I somehow feel an extreme relife. I scoot closer to Marvel to make a little room for little Katniss on the couch, which is hops right into. She seems pretty happy with herself, being all smiles and seeming a lot better then she had been just a hour before. The parents talked for awhile how plans in the arena and even a little about life at home. Which peaked the attetion of all ofthe chidlren, to learn about the other districts, things that we were never really taught about in school.

" Good evening." One of the announcers said at the television popped on.

" Oh here we go!" My father said with a smile.

" Oh no." I whisper, gripping onto Marvel's hand tighter.

" You did the best, I can bet on it." Marvel whispered back.

" Happy Hunger Games to all!" The other announcer said with a smile.

" Out of our twenty-four tributes, we have some that we have seen before, expect highly of, and others that are just coming into these games! Some are living up the the expecting of their parents," I look over and see Caron smiling, knowing that he and Marvel did amazingly. " and others that did very poorly." Me.

" So let's get to it!" The annoucer smiled as the emble for district one came on then a picture of Cashmere. The number that followed was an eight, she smiled becoming very prideful.

" Goodluck." I whispered.

Then on the screen Marvel apperaed, looking so strong and so confident. I smiled as I looked at the picture and then to the boy that was sitting next to me, there were so many thing different about the two. Then a number flashed on the screen, it made my heart drop, _ten_. Marvel had gotten a ten! I smile and hugged him tightly cheering as he sat there in shock. I smiled and clapped as the announcers talked about how high the scores were and how we should really be looking out for Marvel out there. It was true, Marvel would be a great competor. A competor that I would have to take out somewhere down the line. I would have to take out every single person in this room to survive. Enobaria showed up next, her picture sent shivers up and down my spine. She scared me to death. She got a seven. Then Caron came on, looking strong like Marvel had, but he still looked like that at this moment. Then his number appeared on the screen, _nine. _

" Congratulations!" I cheered for him, smiling and laughing.

" Thanks!" He smiled, finally showing a human side. " I really didn't think that I would score that."

District three had some low scores, they ususally do. Then it came to us. My father came on and I felt like I was going to throw up. There was nothing that I could do about my score, it was going to be low and terrible, but this was the first time that I realzied it would hurt him out there as well. We were and team and I would be letting him down out there. He would still be fending over me like a small child. Then a number appeared on the screen, it shocked me. _Nine_. What in the world did my dad do out there and inpressed them so much. Before I could really congradualte him, my picture was on there.

She looked liek someone that I had never seen before, like a real tribute. I was shockedto see my picture up there, it looked like a real stranger. My hair was in perfect curls, falling all the way down my face. I looked flawless. My blueish green eyes popping out and making me look sexy. I had no clue how Remo made me look like that, or when, but I would really have to thank him the next time that I saw him, if I would. I looked like someone that would be comming from district one, someone that had enough money to be ableto look like a beauty queen. Then a number popped up that even shocked me, I could barely breath, could barely move when it came up there. I just stopped everything and felt lightly headed. _Eleven_! Somehow I had gotten an eleven on the scoring!

" So my Dear." Marvel said with a smile as district eleven was on the screen. " Care to go to the party with me?"

" No, she's gonna go with me!" Caron said with a smile.

" I would love to go with you." I smile as Marvel kissed the top of my hand once again.

" We're on!" Katniss finally said something beside me as Peeta's picture came on.

He looked so much younger in that picture, like he had so many years ago. _Ten. _Then a picutre of Katniss came on, they tried so hard to make her look older, but failed. They made her look almost like a child trying on her mothers clothing and make up for the first time. I wanted to smile about it, having a small memory of Spring and I playing with our mothers thing in her closet. Then the number that came with it made me want to cry. _Five_. Of course she would not score too highly she was just a child! But she knew everyhing in the book, she knew everything that we were learning.

" Katniss." Caron said from the other side of the room.

" Yeah." Katniss looked like she was going to cry, head down and hair all over her face.

" Would you like to go with me to the party tomorrow night?" He asked very sincearly.

" Really?" She shot up, tears going away nearly instantly.

" Really. Be my date?" He smiled.

" Yes!" She said very giggly.

" Then it's a double date!" Marvel said with a smile as he kissed my cheek. " We'll have a private date tonight, same place and time as before."


	8. Chapter 8

" You know, I should really be getting my beauty sleep." I smile as Marvel helps me walk around the edges of the roof, holding onto my hips tightly. " Not trying to kill myself."

" Well I doubt that you need anymore beauty sleep, we really do want to give the other tributes a little of the that lime light you love to steal." Marvel smiled as he walked along beside me, on the roof.

" Listen, I don't like stealing it, I just happen to be a fan favorite." I laugh as we keep moving. " Please don't let me fall!" I scream

" I would never let that happen, I have a strong hold of you. Promise." He said with a smile as he put a little pressure on my hip to make sure that I knew he was still holding on. " So what theme are you going to go for tomorrow at the interview?" Marvel asked as he picked me off of the roof and placed me right in front of him.

" I think that Remo will want me to go for sexy. But really all I will be able to produce is quirky." I smiled a little, trying to think about myself being sexy. " It till be the worst failure you will ever see!"

" I doubt that, you just go out there and be you and they will eat it up." He whispered into my ear, inches away from it.

" You really think that I am _that _pretty?" I asked.

" Yes. I don't see how a girl like you can't see it for yourself, but you really are the most beautiful girl that I have seen in quite a long time." He said as he moved back.

He looked nothing like the way that I had seen him for the first time. He looked much more- much more like a human then before. He was wearing sweat pants and a white shirt to cover himself, the jacket that he wore up was now wrapped around me because the wind was blowing pretty hard tonight. His once spiked, ashy blond hair, now moving all around his face, making him look a lot younger. The fierce look in his eyes had faded into what now looked like most of the other kids in the games, fear. I had seen it all day now and some ever since we had gotten her, fear in death and fear in becoming a monster. There was something that was just different about him, something that made him look so much younger- so much weaker - right now.

" You as so full of crap." I laugh as I shove him a little away.

" You just can't see it for yourself." He laughs in reply, moving in closer to my frame once again. " So tell me, Goddess. Have are you and that boy back at home a real thing?" He asked.

" Peeta?" I ask and then my heart breaks once again.

Peeta. That's when the true homesickness started to kick in, bringing it in with full force, I thought that I was going to fall on the floor because of the pain in my heart. I wanted to be laying in my bed with him, his strong arms holding me in close to his, and to have the smell of sea salt wrapping around the two of us. Peeta telling me all about the day that he had out of the shore, searching for shells or playing around with my sisters, while I could see feel the waves of the ocean rocking around my body. I wonder how he's going back at home, if he was thinking about me, what he thought about me score and me being a mermaid. I bet that he laughed when he saw what I was wearing, knowing that it really was something that was like me, how much of a mermaid I really was. I wonder if he will still be in love with me if I make it out- knowing how much of a monster I am.

" Peeta and I were dating for about a day when me father and I were reaped." I sigh, wanting to cry my eyes out once again.

" Sounds like it was more of a last moment romance than a true one." Marvel said in a dark tone.

" It really wasn't like that at all, it was more like we both had feeling for one another for _a while, _and the games just brought them out of one another. I think that we had always known that we would wind up with one another, being the only victors children in the district the same age, it just took a lot of time to really figure it fully out. We would have eventually, the games just shorted the time we had." I tear up a little. " I miss him so much."

" Well, maybe you will be able to see him again. Besides, you know that he loves you." I then remember, the show of affection we had before we were swept away, his announcement of love.

" I guess that you are right there." That's when I can't take it anymore, I break. Tears start coming.

I feel like I am on the floor, but really, I am just in Marvel's lap. I have wrapped my body into his and just crying my eyes out. I have my face in his chest and his arms are around my back, slowly patting and rubbing it. He is trying to tell me little things to calm me down, but nothing seems to be working. The tears just keep coming. I don't know what really started it, thinking about Peeta or knowing that I would never be seeing him again. Which then justs makes me think that my sisters will never see me or my father again, which makes me cry even harder. Marvel seems like he knows what he's doing though, through all of his cooing, he has calmed me down to a slight sob and heavy breathing.

" What in the world did you do to her? Make her look at your baby picture or something?" A voice said from the door.

" Shut up." Marvel hissed back at the boy.

" What's wrong sweetheart?" Caron asked as he came over and place his hand lightly onto my face. " An amazing girl like you should never be crying. No need." He smiles as he wipes the tears away.

" I- I miss my fa-family." I cry out. " I just want to make sure that they are okay, safe and sound." I breath out.

" They are just fine, nothing would ever happen to them right now. I bet that they are in bed, getting a nice night of sleep. Tell me about them." Caron whispers as he slides me off of Marvel's lap and places me in between the two of them.

" My sister Spring, she is the one that is always trying to look older then she always is. She thinks that she has to look like me and try to act so much older because she wants to have a boyfriend, which my father will never allow. She looks so much like my father that it's not even believable. Then again, I am the only one that really looks like my mom. Then theres little Autumn, she is my littlest sister. Sh- She is just so full of life that it's amazing. She lightens up any room that she goes into without even trying. She's the life of the whole house. Me and Spring have so much to look out for her though, she thinks that she because me and Spring go into the ocean, that she has to as well. Even though everyone knows that she isn't that good of a swimmer." I cough a little.

I told them all about the time that me and my sisters went to the beach in the middle of the summer last year. We were all a little silly that day and were playing around with Trent and Peeta, seeing how could find the biggest shell on the shore. How Spring and I had already gone into the water to find a better shell and so what does Autumn have to do? Come in and try it with us. Soon we can hear my sister screaming, she is over her head in the water and splashing around like a mad woman. Trent and Peeta are rushing int other water, trying to get to her at all costs, and me and my sister coming from the other way. Autumn is screaming at the top of her lungs, and when we get there, the only thing that she has to say is that she went under for too long, she was tired, and that she thought that she felt an eel swimming around her. Autumn had a terrible fear of eels, she water so scared of them that she even had nightmares of them after that day. We all laughed a little at her, after we yelled a little, and Trent brought her to shore. That ended that game very quickly.

" You guy are allowed to swim in the ocean?" Caron asks.

" Yeah, it's pretty nice, just having the water wrapped around you. I love swimming." I sigh.

" I don't know how to swim." Caron tilts his head downward, blushing.

" Really?" I question and all he does is nod.

" Me either. I doubt that anyone really does, it's not part of our job in our districts to know how to swim. Unlike yours." Marvel shrug.

" I love it. Having the water surrounding your whole body and being able to do whatever and feel so weightless. It's just an amazing feeling. Even though right after my mom died, we were all band from going even near the shore. But since then me and Spring have been going there every summer, me more then that." I smile.

With a smile Caron talks about how one time it was raining pretty had in district two. " I mean it seemed like it would just never come to an end, ya see." He smiled as he net on to say that he and his friends just walked around in the rain with nothing on but their boxers because they did not want to get all of their other clothes soaking wet. Even thought they still got pretty wet because they were just carrying them around on their shoulders. How all of the girls there were hooting and giggling at them walking through one of the small towns that they had. They would wave and sometimes just walk right through some of the girls with umbrella's. Hitting on the girls and that's how he met his ex-girlfriend, because she laughed it off the whole time. He frowned as he finished with that story and tried to think about anything else besides that.

" I bet you are like a little mermaid." Caron smiles as he wiped the last tear away from my eye.

" You would be surprised. I sleep better out in the ocean." I laugh.

" Really? Now that is a trait that I would love to see!" Marvel smiles.

" Peeta said that it was an amazing trait to have." I smile.

" Wow, I wish that I could say anything like that, but I can't even allow myself to sleep in my bathtub." Marvel laughs.

" Well I guess that I will have to teach the two of you if there is any water around the arena. Make sure that you two fools learn before ya die!" We all laugh a little.

" I guess that it will be a good exchange, you teach us how to swim, we teach you how to stay alive." Caron smirks.

" Oh common, just cause your mom taught you since a baby how to win in the hunger games doesn't me that we need you around to stay alive!" I nudge him away.

" Actually it was since I was an embryo and I knew even then how to kill!" Caron laughed.

" Yeah he killed off all of the other sperm." Marvel said with a smile.

" Common, you need your sleep. Besides it's not good to be up here in this weather." Caron says as he helps me up and leads me to the door.  
>" Sorry that our date got crashed." I whisper to Marvel as he kisses me on the neck, sending sparks through my body.<p>

" Don't worry Love, we'll have plenty of time alone in the arena." He whispers back as we enter the elevator.

I wave goodbye to the two of them and move towards my room, but before I get there I hear something unusual from the living room. I move slowly towards the room to see two figures on the couch, two built male and one skinny woman. Peeta and Katniss. He finally showed up to talk to her! I could never miss this in a million years. I quietly move a little closer, staying behind the wall, and listen to it silently. Though only one person could speak, it seemed like they were having a two-way conversation. Like Peeta could almost read the mind of the avox girl that was sitting next to him, I could see that he was holding onto her hand like it was gold.

" Listen, I know that I should have come up here earlier, but I just- I didn't know what I would say to you. What you would want to hear about, how I would even do it without getting you in trouble! That was the last ting that I would want to do Katniss, it get you into any trouble." Silence. " I love you too. I really wished that you would have let me take this place. You should see our daughter, she looks like the both of us, mostly me though, sorry. I know that you did not want me to name her after you, but with what you did, I had to. I think that you would have named _her _Peeta if you could have been able to. " Silence. " Katniss, district twelve was bombed right after that last hunger game we were in. no one that we love or cares about was able to make it out. Now I don't know what happened to them, since they never found their bodies, but I'm guessing that Gale took them someplace else. I bet that they are safe and sound in the woods somewhere, someplace safe." He whispered as some gargled sounds came into the air.

" Shh. Katniss, everything is okay. I know that deep down they are all fine. They are all alive and well someplace in the woods. Most likely safe at the river that you told them about, yeah, Gale probably took them there. Safe and sound. Oh, there is something else that I have to tell you about." Silence. " They killed Haymitch." This brought the girl into even more of a fit, there were many more noises that sounded like a pig with it's throat slit.

" They did it right after they killed Cinna, right after they ended the games. N they brought me out of the hospital with the baby, they allowed Haymitch to see her, allowed her to hold her. He was so happy for the two of us, he even smiled and seemed like he was sober. But then, just like that, they shot him!" Peeta was now the one choking up. " She's going to the party tomorrow night with a boy from district two, she's so happy about it, I could never tell her no. She's just like you with that ya know, anything that she ever wants she gets. She love cheese buns. _Loves _them." This brought some other noises from the girl. " You know that they were going to make me get married one day or another. To show that everyone could move on from the Mockingjay being killed. I think that they said that you died during childbirth. But I don't remember anymore." Silence. " I will make sure that when I am out there though, that they know the full truth. I have to go now. I still love you more then anything in the world." I knew what was coming next and move towards me room.

The whole night though, I could not get my self to go to sleep. I knew that once I rested my head on the pillow, closed my eyes, and tried to get to sleep what would happen. The waves would come over me, the smell of sea salt would take over my lungs, and I would be back at home once again. I would be on the shore, my sisters would be making a sand castle a few yards away from me, and Peeta would be laying under me, my head on his chest. The water would be coming up and hitting our toes, we would be laughing as the sun slowly made our skin warm. But then I would know that I would have forced to wake up and only then, would the real nightmare begin. I could not put my self through that once again. No, I would get sleep tomorrow night, after the party.

So instead I paced all of my room, allowing myself to memorize everything had was in the room. The clock that seemed to tick ever so loudly on the wall by the door, the wardrobe that went up to my waist that I kept bumping my hip off of each time that I paced by it, the nightstand with a digital clock on it, and the bed itself. The bed seemed like I could fit me and both of my sisters and we would all have enough room to toss and turn around all night without bumping into one another. It wave covered in a aqua-blue silk sheet, and under that was a warm comforter. None of it reminded me of home, no matter how much they tried to make us feel comfortable, the capital could never do it. It was like trying to make cows feel comfortable before sending them to a slaughter house.


	9. Chapter 9

Primping and prepping, that was what was happening in my bedroom the day of the interview. I had been taught by the very best all day how to be sexy and now I would have to prove it to the world. This time, the woman with pink hair, Tailice, makes my nails into a deep blue color, she keeps going on about how so many people will be looking at me and me only. The man with purple skin, Jakard, is getting rid of the little body hair that had already come back. The final girl, the quit one with yellow cat eyes, Veriko, was giving my hair little kinks to it. How long Remo had been working on my outfit was all that the three of them were talking about, the dress and the whole outfit put together. Help me. They all finally left when they were all proud of the work that they had done.

" How badly did they babble?" Remo said with a smile as he entered the room, giving me a small hug with one arm, and holding me dress which was covered in plastic.

" More then I would ever like to hear in a lifetime." I laughed as he unzipped the bad, showing a medium-blue dress.

He had to help me into it, but Remo did an amazing job with the dress. It was a light blue top, with some darker floral print at the top part, which went to about my waist. Then the bottom half was the blue going from light to darker, but there was a split on the right side of the dress, near the middle of it, which showed all of my leg. The dress was a halter gown, covering just the parts needed on my torso, and then fell all the way to my ankles. The whole dress sparkled under the laugh, making me stick out like the ocean does with sunlight. I could feel that the dress did not start till right above my waist on the backside. I felt exposed and very frightened.

But we were not done there, no way. Remo had to make sure that my face also fit the match of the rest of my body, he wanted to make sure that I looked sexy all around. First he placed a think layer of eye-liner on both side of my sides, top and bottom. It hurt a little, this being the first time that I had really put any makeup on my face, and I hoped that I would never have to again. Then he worked on the tops of my eyes, mixing blacks with grays and grays with blue. Giving my eyes a smoky look with little hints of blue everywhere that you looked, but it still did not look like most of the people walking through the capitol, I still looked a little normal. He finished off with a thick layer of mascara over my eyelashes to plump them and then a thick layer of deep red lipstick.

" You look the part now, sexy and now you just have to make sure that you act like you are as well. How long did Finnick try and teach you?" Remo asked.

" Hours, I swear about four hours he tried and tried. I think that I finally got down being able to talk like one." I smiled a little as I walked onto the other side of the room, waiting to the hell that I would be wearing on my feet.

" Well lets hear it then!" He says as he tightened up a little. " Hello and welcome to the one hundredth hunger games! This is our girl from district four, the lovely goddess, Summer Heal!" I smile as I strut towards Remo, who is now acting like Caesar Flickermen- a reported for the capitol. " Summer you look amazing tonight, but tell us, how do you feel?"

" Caesar, I feel simply amazing, honestly. I am in the capitol, I am in this amazing dress, and I feel like a million dollars." I say in a excited, but a little deeper tone then normal, giving it a little of a sexy vibe.

" And you look like one to." Remo said, back in his own voice now.

" You are the one that created this goddess." I laugh as I hug him tightly.

" Common, we have to get going and get you into your shoes." He smiled as he helped me into shoes smaller then the ones that Mina had me in all day, those were killers. Remo placed my pearl onto my neck and gave my forehead a light kiss.

" Both are for good luck, Goddess."

Then we were rushed away, to a separate place where we were all put together, all of the tributes, waiting for our turn to go up and be judged by the world. We could watch to see what the others were talking about, what they were saying about the others, everything. First the parents of the district would go on, then the children would follow them Most of the children were around my age, but right now, we all looked like adults locked in a room, we all looked like kids putting on their mothers makeup. My father went over to the adults that we were going to be allies with, I went towards Marvel and Caron, who were talking with one another.

" So you two boys ready to wow the crowd?" I asked in my sexy voice, letting my leg show from the side of my dress.

" Wow." Marvel whispered, mouth opened a little.

" You look. . . You look. . ." Caron's mouth was opened now as well.

" Beautiful, pretty, amazing, stunning, common guys which is it?" I laugh as they try to think a little more.

" You look breath taking." Marvel says as he takes my hand and gives it a light kiss.

" You look more then that, honest, I'm just trying to find the words to fit what you look like." Caron smiled as he looked at the doors.

" So are you boys scared yet?" I smile, looking back at the door, behind it hundred of people were watching, and a home, the world.

" More then I have ever been before." Marvel whisperers as he looks over as well, making all of us looking.

" Common, we are Career's, we can't be afraid of anything." I say, though I am prettified.

" I think that I can be afraid of many things, your father being one of them, because I have to say that if we were in the same district, I would so be with you more then as just allies." Caron smiles as he looks down at his shoes.

" Is Caron Shoore blushing?" I ask, almost in shock.

" He is!" Marvel laughs a little.

" What can I say? I just think that you are pretty and that's all it can be, district two and district four never get married!" He frowns.

" Keep dreaming lover boy." I laugh as a small noise comes into the room and all of our parents come over to where we are.

" Ready kids?" Marvel's mom asks.

" Not a single ounce of me will ever be ready to have people watching me in public, in heels." I laugh as I try to stand on my own. " Anyone ever broken an ankle trying to walk to the sitting area?"

" Not that I have seen, but that doesn't mean much." Caron's mom laughs. " You look stunning tonight."

" Thank you." I smile, now I am the one blushing.

" Common, we will be on soon." Marvel's mom pulls him away.

" See you guys after." He waves as his gets pulled in front of the door.

" They wont last three hours in the arena. Mamma coddles him too much." Enobaria hisses in their direction.

" I give him one." Caron laughs.

" Common now, we are supposed to be a team." I say looking from face to face.

" A team we are, but if he gets in the way, he will just be dead weight. I will not hold onto dead weight." Enobaria states.

" Well lets go in front of the television and watch the two of them. Maybe he is a good talker, maybe getting us more sponsors then we have been expecting." My father winks over at Enobaria.

Cashmere went on first, looking fierce and strong in an all gold dress that came all the way down to the floor, making her look even more fierce. She was wearing gold eyeliner and smiled as she was welcomed over by Caesar Flickermen. She was trying to be sexy as well, but a different type, almost a PG type of sexy, a motherly type. She smiled as she talked about her son, how she had never wanted him to have to go through all of the things that she had, and how she could not stand to lose another son to these games. She made sure that her point got across to the people; she should not be here and neither should her only son. Her only child. Everyone could see, just from the look on her face, that she was so proud of Marvel and so afraid to lose him as well.

Then it was his turn, Marvel looked so much stronger and bigger then his mother as he walked out. He was playing it strong and tough, just like we wanted it to be. But he also gave a little bit of compassion as he talked about life back at home, all of the friends that he had, and how much he missed everyone back at home. Caesar Flickermen asked about everything that he could in the little amount of time that they had together, but they were matching up to one another so well, it was like a fire round of interview, Caesar would as a question and Marvel would be able to spit out an answer without a single thought about it, just like that.

" So tell me Marvel, there must be many girls rooting for you at home, a strong guy like yourself. Do you have a girl watching at home?" Caesar asked.

" No, there is no girl waiting for me at home." He looked down at the floor and then back up at Caesar. " But there is a girl here, one that has really caught my attetion more then anything in the world. Mine and the eyes of at least one other guy here. Maybe more." Marvel said.

" And who would that be?" Caesar asked.

" Summer Heal." He said lightly. I stood, now with my mouth opened wide in shock, unable to hear the rest of the conversation.

" If you think that caused an uproar, wait till you see what we're gonna do next." Caron said with a smile as he kissed my cheek lightly before walking to the door. I could feel all eyes were on me.

Enobaria went on first, looking as scary as ever, and used that to her advantage. She was looking fierce and stronger then even Marvel, which was no shock to me. I just watched as she talked about how tributes should not be falling in love before going into battle, that we should be focused. She talked about how no one should be letting their heads slip away from what they came here for, to win. Enobaria then talked about how she was ready to go in once again, how she was proud about her son, and excited to bring Caron in the field with her. Ready to have Caron feel the action and the excitement for the games. Her true side came out with Caesar, to the whole capitol, and to the whole world. She was ready for the blood.

Then it was Caron's turn, just like his mother, he came out ready to roll. But he had a much softer side to him, a much funnier side that his mother did not have at all. He smiled and made a few joked to begin everything with- being the typical Caron that everyone knew and loved. He laughed and made fun of the way that he would always have to break in between Marvel and I to even get a glace at me, how much he really liked being around the two of us. Then he went back into game mode, back into pure tactics and status, making sure to show all of his sides while he was giving the three minutes. Making sure that everything was known for.

" So your mother believes that there is no time to love in a time like this? Do you agree?" Caesar asked, looking over at Caron with a very serious look.

" To be honest, how can I?" He asked as he looked down and balled his hands up a little in his hands. " When I am the other guy fighting for Summer?" He asked as this drew the crowd in, being a silence to everyone.

" That must not impress you mother too much." Caesar stated more then asked.

" She didn't know that I was really fighting for someone until right now. Sorry to break it to you think way, Mum." He laughed a little, bringing the whole room into a light laughter.

" You set this up didn't you?" I asked my father, who was shaking his head no.

" But I will not have to play the fatherly role and protect you at all costs. Damn." He laughed.

" Better play it up well because I have no clue how I will act flirty when that just happened." I say as I point to the screen, which already has the adult from district three up there.

" Just do it to your best ability and let the rest come to you." He smiled as he kissed my forehead and moved me to the door.

" Good luck, Dad." I smiled as I was forced to let go of his hand, the child was up now. He would be next and then me.

" You too, Sweetheart." My dad said right before he walked on stage.

I could feel my heart beating in my skull, the butterflies in my stomach were flying all around to other places in my body, and I thought that I was going to be sick. My father stood so tall and so strong, he knew what to say because he had already been in his position before. He took his place protecting his child from everything that he could, saying how much he hated that I had to be here of all places. Then the topic of the boys was brought up, he came up with a quick answer, something that made even me laugh. He told Caesar, and the world, that I was not allowed to have a boyfriend until I was thirty and that was final. Telling Marvel and Caron that they should just give up now before they both got heartbroken. Then, his time was up, he was being applauded and then it was my turn. I wanted to run, to scream, and to say that I could not go on, but I had to.

" Summer Heal, the Goddess!" Caesar said as I strutted out, smiling a little as I walked out. " Welcome Summer!"

" Thank you so much Caesar. It's amazing to be here!" I smiled as I sat down beside him in a small orange seat.

" So tell me Summer, what has been like to be there in the Capitol?" He asked.

" It's amazing to be here, more then they ever say in classes at school." This brings people to laugh a little. " What I am trying to say is that everything is so much bigger and better then they have the in the books, everything seems so extravagant. I have had an amazing time here with some pretty amazing people." I smiled as I looked into the crowd, Remo was smiling.

" Let's talk about your home in district four to the day of the reaping, with the boy that was there."

" His name is Peeta, he was supposed to be right here instead of me, but my father and I took his and his mother, Annie's place for him." I said lightly, trying not to think too much about Peeta.

" And why is that?" Caesar asked.

" Well because Annie is in no state of mind to come back into the arena, I doubt that she will ever be ready, or that any victor would be. And I would never want to see Peeta there either. We were best friends until it was told that victors children would be chosen." I tried speaking up, making sure that everyone would hear me.

" Then what happened?" Caesar asked like a child wanting to know the end of a story.

" We just figured we were in love, everyone else seemed to know it before we did." I laughed a little." My sisters told us that we would get married as soon as we got out of high school when we were little."

" Sounds like you two were really meant to be." Caesar smiled.

" I think that we were, though I have been told that maybe we aren't." I can almost hear people gasping in the audience.

" So is this by one of the two boys that have confessed to falling head of heels for you, like all of us in the capitol have?" Caesar smiled.

" Maybe both." I said with a wink and some laugher, which was more little a little giggle.

" Did you have any idea that these two boys were fighting over you?" Caesar asked.

" No, I really had no clue that they even thought that way about me. I mean we had never meant before a few days ago, we all just kind of hit it off as being good friend." I shrug.

" Anything that you would like to say to Marvel and Caron?" Caesar questioneded.

" We are still allies, still good friends, but besides that, well I guess fate will have to see." I smile as I look into the crowd. " I guess we will all have to wait and see."

" And anything to Peeta, the boy waiting back at home?" Caesar asked. This pulled at my heart in ways that hurt.

" Peeta, I still love you so much, I miss you like crazy. I will wear your gift to me until the end, until I can see you once again." I smile and blow a kiss at the camera. That's when a noise comes stating that my time is up.

" Summer the Goddess!" Caesar lifts me off of the couch and throws my arm into the air. The audience is in a roar, clapping and cheering so loudly. They have always loved having a little drama/ romance in their Hunger Games.


	10. Chapter 10

Peeta. Back at home he was most likely just settling in to watch what was happening in the wonderful world of the Hunger Games right about now. Trying to tell my sisters that I would be coming home in a few weeks, and that we were all going to be on, big happy family. Not having any clue how I was using the boys around me for sponsors or how they were doing the same with me. I wonder if he would believe any of the things that I was saying to him on the television, how much I really just want to be with him right now. How much I yearn for his body to be near mine, how much I want to be laying in bed with him right now, or going to the ocean for an after hour swim. Peeta had always been the smart of the two of us and knew when people were just playing friends for sponsor and when they had really made friends. I hope that he knew because even here, I had no clue who was playing friends and who was just acting.

Peeta, I remember every single inch of his face. During the summer, his hair was a nice light brown with little curls coming from the top of his hair, but in the winter it was a very dark brown. Only in the summer could you ever see his freckles coming from just under his eyes, like they were almost highlighting them. They were there only to make sure that you would notice those sea green eyes, the ones that always captivated me. I could spend hours at a time, just staring into them. His strong jaw, square and solid, but could drop at a moment when something was shocking. And that one little freckle that he had on the right side of his neck, right below his ear. The way that when he smiled, it could light up a whole room, he always seemed so full of life. But Peeta was back in district four, safe and sound, like I had left him.

" We have to get you ready for the big party!" Remo said as he hustled me into my room.

" I know, I know." I sighed as I sat down on my bed as he unzipped my dress and started to rush to get it off.

" So how do you think that you did with the interview?" Remo asked as he slipped around with another plastic bag that he brought in with him.

" Well I had no clue that Marvel and Caron were going to do something like that! I have no honest clue! But I think that I played in off pretty well, don't you?" I asked, looking over at the man.

" It surely has caused a lot more attention to you then almost anyone else out there. The only two people that could ever complete with that are Katniss and Peeta, but we all know that would happen." Remo smiled as he unzipped his bag.

" If that's anything that has blue in it, I will scream!" I smile as he just rolls his eyes. " Yeah, I guess that we all knew it would happen. But then again, that's one of the reasons why I wanted them so badly." I laughed, knowing that is not the answer at all.

" Well it's not blue!" Remo smiled as he pulled out a fiery red dress. " District twelve's stylist and I have been talking about the two girls on the night to make sure that they would not be clashing too much. She will be in blue and you in red!"

" Oh how cleaver of you!" I laughed a little as he helps me into the very short dress.

When I say short, I really mean short. This thing only comes up to my mid-thigh. I am almost leaving nothing to the imagination and I really have to make sure how I sit, if I can sit in this thing. It was a very pretty dress, yes, but it was also very small and revealing. To ass onto the shortness, it was a halter top that had a neckline that went all the way to where my torso meets my chest! There was really nothing left for the wondering eye, everything was almost out in the open for all to look at if they wanted to. I smiled a little after thinking about what had happened today, I was supposed to be the sexy girl, now I looked the part to go with it.

My make-up was redone, but this time with red instead of blues and my nails were re-painted for red. They looked like they were on fire, just like the rest of me looked in this dress. But there was some elegance to the dress as well, or that's what Remo keeps saying. This time they place my in higher heels, I know that I will have Marvel and Caron around me all night, so I try not to worry about the shoes too much, knowing that I can lean on them for help. I feel different then I ever have before, for a moment, I feel like I could have any person in the world that I have ever wanted, but really, there is only one person I want right now. Peeta. I feel myself almost sink right into my dress, into my body, and deep down into my soul. I hurt because of how much I want to be back home with that boy. I keep it all inside though.

" Have fun tonight, just make sure that you don't take a single drink of anything that I have not told you to drink from." Remo said as he helped me out of my room and down the hall.

" You will be there?" I almost shrieked.

" Well yes, my crew are most likely already over there getting wasted as we speak!" He laughed. " Sometimes I really hate the people that I have been placed with. But then again, I did hand pick them."

" You look amazing baby girl." My dad said from the door.

" Thanks Dad." I laughed as I wrap my arms around him.

He looks pretty good right now. He is in an all black suit, but there are little specks of blue flickering from all over his suit, it looked like the ocean. Looks like his stylist did not get the memo about wearing all red tonight, or he was not going for the sexy look. Either way he did look very nice. He looked a little older then he had at the interview, which was good for me, but he still looked very handsome. His hair was slicked back and all of the aging marks had disappeared from sight with some types of make-up they had used on my fathers face. I think that he had looked just fine before they did all of this to him, but he even seemed to glow right now. We were being treated like royalty in the capitol, there was not much to complain about. Besides the fact that we would be dying within the next month, maybe even a little more if they really wanted to drag out the games.

" Smile!" Mina said with a camera in her hands. " I want to make sure that I have a picture of my first winning tributes!" We do what she said.

" Mina, would you mind making a copy of that and giving it to Finnick for me?" I asked, looking over at Fin.

" What do you need that for?" Mina asked in her high pitched tone.

" I just want to make sure that a boy at home has one, just incase we are not the winners after all." I frowned, but Finnick knew what I was asking for and just nodded.

" Have fun tonight you guys." Finnick waved as the elevator opened.

" You are not coming?" I asked as I got in.

" No, I have some calls to make since my tributes will be gone." He looked into his room. " I will make sure that they know that you are safe and almost happy. I'll make sure that Peeta knows that Marvel and Caron are just acting too." He whispered

" Thank you." I whispered. All I wanted do was stay, go into his room, and talk to Peeta all night long.

I should have remembered that there was such things as phone calls in the training area. Dad would always call around nine at night to make sure that we were all settled in at Annie's house and we were all safe and sound! He would do it every night until he could come home and see us once again. Finnick would call soon after that to check on his two kids, but we would all talk on the phone to the two of them, it was really just like having a call with five kids and two adults. I wish that I would have thought about that earlier and just knocked down Finnick's door and called home. I know the number by heart, I could have called, should have called. Just to have a few more minutes to hear his voice would have been so much better then what I was left with.

Remo, my father, and I were all escorted outside and into a big black vehicle. I had no clue where we were going, all I really wanted to do was look out and see the Capitol. It was one of the only things that I could do right now. It was beautiful, so big and grand. We sped along long roads that had many people onto it. But the kept becoming fewer and fewer until it's just our car and a few behind us – the other districts. We come to the biggest house that I have ever seen in my life before! It is the size of my whole part of district four plus the whole ocean around us! It was one of the biggest things I have ever laid eyes on! It was the most important person in the world's house. The president's house.

" I have not been here in quite a long time." My father smiled as we were greeted with a peacemaker opening the door.

" Since you have won?" Remo asked.

" Yes." My father said as he helped me out of the car. We were now at the back of the house.

" But I know that you have had top qualifying tributes before, why have none of them ever come here before?" Remo asked.

" Because I did not want any of them to mess up their game by coming here the night before a big day like tomorrow." My father whispered as we waited for the other cars to drive up.

" Why come tonight then?" Remo asked.

" Because all I have to worry about is making sure that one person stays alive and I know that she is smarter then the other tributes I have had before. Besides, the sponsors will be here, they will want to see the love triangle." He laughed as Marvel steps out of his car, holding his hand out for his mother.

Marvel was wearing a golden shirt and the rest was an all black suit. But somehow his stylist had gotten him to get a little bit of gold eye-liner on the boy. It made my giggle a little that he was even wearing it, but then again, it did make his eyes look much better. He still looked strong though, standing so tall with his mother, who was wearing a short black dress. Marvel was wearing a red rose on his chest, it was attached to his shirt, right above his heart. They both looked so different as they walked over to our group, Cashmere having no problem with walking in her heel, which were as big as mine. She even laughed a little when she was me holding onto my father so tightly. It was my first and most likely last time every in heels. I wanted to just tell her to leave me the hell alone, but I knew that it was all out of fun.

" Marvel, go help your date out." Cashmere hissed as she moved a little closer to the adults.

" You look amazing tonight." Marvel smiled as he took my arm from my father and wrapped it around his own.

" So do you." I laugh a little as Caron's car pulls up.

Caron get's out of the car and does nothing for his mother, who gets out and looks stronger then ever. She is already in game mode and does not need any sponsors to help her kill. She sent chills down my spine that were noticeable to the touch. Caron was wearing a blue type of follower right where Marvel's flower was. He smiled and waved over to the two of us as he waited for the next car to pull up and helped little Katniss out of their car and helped to bring her over to the group. Caron seemed to be much more relaxed then his mother, smiling and full of jokes. He was ready to have a good time, knowing it may be the last time ever for him as well.

" So when the fuck were you two going to tell me the plan?" I almost screamed as I nudged the two of them.

" Well. . . it was really our mothers ideas. We were just dragged into it and then your father said that you should not be told. Something about how you were never good at keeping secrets." Caron shrugged.

" You two are the biggest bunch of asses that I have ever met! I mean really, I could have just about died when I heard all of that crap out there!" I laughed as Marvel moved in a little closer to my frame.

" I thought that you guys did a really good job." Katniss smiled a little.

" Thanks Kat." Caron smiled down at his date.

" So have you heard what the big plan in for tomorrow?" Marvel asked.

" No, have you?" I asked, looking from the adults to the group that I was with.

" Yep." Marvel looked over and then back at us. " It sounds so stupid, being who we are and all, but they want us to run."

" Run!" Caron hissed out. " We are not going to run away from a good fight like this! Never would we ever run from something like this!" He laughed.

" Maybe it's a good idea. I mean think about it, everyone is going to be going of things. The adults know where everything is in there, we have no clue! We try to make it out with our heads intact and then we just stay near the blood bath until everyone has run away." I whispered. " We have our parents throw things while we are running off and while they are getting all of the other good stuff, we can just kill off all of the little tributes that come our way."

" Maybe, or they are just being overprotective little twits." Caron hissed.

" Either way we have to go with it, don't we?" Katniss asked.

" We never have to just go with it, but we should." I replied before the adults looked over and started to form a full group.

" Ready to go have a good time?" Cashmere asked.

" Totally!" Caron asked. " Ready to party my head off!" He laughed.

" Common." Marvel smiled as he helped me up the stairs.

We were treated like royalty the whole night! We were all greeted by all of the people there at least three times, everything seemed to be so amazing. Marvel stayed by my side the whole night, playing the boy in love the whole time. We even got to meet President Snow! She seemed to still have the presence that she has on the television. It was scary, but there was something nicer right now about her then ever before. It was only a short meet and greet, as she had others to get to, but she told us all that she would be watching and waiting to see how well we did in the games. Wishing us a happy Hunger Games, she went back into the crowd. Soon after that Remo came over with the first round of good drinks for us. A glass of apple cider.

All night sponsors were cutting into our dancers and saying how much they simply loved us and asked what type of things that we would like to be given to us for our time in the arena, what we would need for food supplies, what we liked to eat. Simple things like that. Marvel would smile ad say that he would like anything that I would like, while I would just list off things that I would most likely die to have while out there. A few times Caron even up into the dance and made his own way of showing that he could still be my one by pecking a few kisses onto my cheek or even one he kissed my neck. These boys really knew how to play the part well. I laughed a little and moved onto the next thing. The whole night was just a wonderful time.

" Miss Hael, would you mind telling me how in the world do you think that you will be able to leave these two wonderful boys!" One person asked me.

" I have no clue! I mean they are both so charming! They could most likely just smile me into staying with them, but I think that I will find a way or to around it." I giggle a little as the man kissed my hand and gave me a little wink.

" How do you think that you will be able to leave us?" Marvel asked.

" Leave? She's going to try to kill our asses! Don't forget! We are in a game!" Caron hissed as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

" But then again, maybe she'll just pair us against one another and just watch." We all laughed at Marvel's joke.

" Welcome to the Hunger Games." I smiled as we gave one last cheer to one another.

We all knew that come mid-day tomorrow, we would all be in another different place. One where we would be all afraid to close our eyes, or even trust one another. The Hunger Games began a little early for the four of us, the rest of the night, while I was in my room, I wondered how I would be able to kill such good guys like that. How I would be able to stick a knife deep down inside of them and end their lives. Somewhere inside I doubted that I would be able to do it. But when the light of morning came, there was no doubt.** I would be killing someone today. **


	11. Chapter 11

" Good morning, it's going to be a big big day!" Mina said through my bedroom door. I wanted to kill her, it was the first time that I had fallen asleep all night.

" Well can't it wait until mid-morning to be a big big day, common Mina, a girl needs her sleep!" I sighed, putting the fluffy pillow over my head.

" No, we need to get you all prepared and have breakfast before eight!" Mina laughed as she exited the room. Crap.

I rose from my bed, with a rather loud groan, and moved straight for the shower. I knew that it was going to be a big day, but I was going to look my best for this big day no matter what happened. It may be the last time my family gets to see me alive, even if it's on the television. I waited until there was enough product in my wet hair that it smoothed out and made it so that I could get a com through it before even leaving the shower. I placed on the same pajama's I had on before and walked out of the room, not really caring about how I looked now.

" Look who finally decided to come out of her little cave." Finnick laughed from his place at the table.

" Shut up, it's gonna be a long time before I get to shower again and I wanted to cherish it for all that it is worth." I laughed as I helped myself to a small breakfast.

" Did you have fun last night?" Remo asked.

" Why yes, I did." I smiled as I sat down beside my father.

" Well we better eat up, we have very limited time today." My father said as he dug around his plate, eating about as much as I was.

We all ate in mostly silence because no one really wanted to speak much. It was a big big day, yes, but it was also the last day that I may see the capital or even my crew again. We all just starred at one another as we ate, wanting to say so many things, but so unsure how to get the words to come out. Finnick just ate and looked at me, while Remo just starred off from the windows outside to the two tributes, my father looked over at Finnick, and I looked at all three of them for advice, none of it was being given to me. I felt like I was just learning how to swim and the person that was teaching me was just going to let me sink to the bottom of the ocean.

As my father and I went off to our separate rooms, Finnick pulled me off in a different direction, someplace that I had never gone before. It was the area well all of the crew had their rooms, mostly Mina and Finnick. He moved me into his room as quick as he could and placed me on his all white sheeted bed. He looked around, as if to make sure that no one was watching us, and then moved to one side of t he room to the other. I looked around the room to see that he has plenty of personal things, pictures and a television.

" You have about five minutes." He said as he handed me the phone. " He will be expecting you."

My heart dropped to the ground as I placed the phone up to my ear and heard the ringing. I knew that Finnick had spent his last pone call with his family to allow me to have time with Peeta. I wanted to cry so hard when his voice came through the line, wanted to smile and scream and cry all at once. All I could so was smile though, smile and have tears coming down my eyes. It was my Peeta, the one that I had met as a child, coming through the phone line. I gripped onto the phone, as if it was him, and held onto it tightly. I did not know what to say, did not really care what it was, just that I got to listen to his voice one last time. I could tell that he was hearing to sobbing through the line, he knew that I was there.

" Summer, Summer!" He said, bringing me back into the world.

" Peeta!" I cried out.

" Please don't cry Sum, you know that it will just make it worse for the two of us." He said lightly.

" Today is the day Peeta, today we are going to our arena." I sobbed a little harder.

" I know. But you just have to remember that we are all here cheering for you and we know that you can do it." He said, trying to calm me down.

" I miss you so much Peeta." I cried out, completely sobbing.

" I miss you too Sum." He said gravely. " So was that all just for show then, really? With the two boys, is that all going to be for show in there?" He asked.

" Yes! Of course it's going to be for show! You know that I am yours and always will be Peeta. They are just the two friends that I have made out here, they are just trying to play the game like I am!" I cried out, trying to convince him and a little myself.

" That's all I needed to hear, I am sorry for making you have to say it." Peeta said lightly.

" How are the girls?" I asked, pulling the tears back in.

" They are doing fine, though they rarely speak." He lighten up a bit as well.

" They are just worried. Make sure that they sleep through most of the night and let them know that I love them more then anything in the world. That they mean everything to me and my dad. Please Peeta, make sure that they know that we love them." I begged. " Make sure that they know that if we do not make it back. . ."

" Don't talk like that Summer!" Peeta snapped. " You are going to make it back just fine that there is nothing to it! You will be just fine and when you get back we will get married!" Peeta let out the last part so fast we both just kind of sat there, wordless.

" Did you just ask to marry me?" I asked.

" I guess that I did, didn't I." He laughed a little, I could almost see him pushing back his hair and blushing hard.

" Make sure that it's something that the world will remember." I laughed a little, knowing that it will never really happen.

" Of course I will make sure of that. Hey Sum?" He asked lightly.

" Yeah Peeta?" I smiled, holding the phone close.

" I love you, more then I have ever loved anything else in the world, I love you. I want you to know that I will make sure that we have a good life together, nothing will ever happen to the two of us for as long as we both will live." I smiled a this a little, knowing that it may never really happen though.

" Promise?" I asked lightly.

" Promise." He stated.

" I love you too." I said as Finnick came back into the room. " Peeta, I have to go, it's gonna be time to leave soon and your father is telling me that I have to go get ready."

" No! No! We have so much else to talk about, tell him that we need more time! Summer, I love you more then anything in the world! You know that I love you." Peeta said through the phone.

" I have to go now, I love you Peeta." I said as I tear fell from my eye.

" I love you too Sum." He said choking up, he was crying as well. I hung up the phone and looked over at Finnick.

" I will make sure that you get home to him." He stated.

" I doubt that he would ever forgive you if you didn't." I said as I stood up from his bed.

" Well, that makes two of us then." He smiled a little.

I got dressed and that's when it all hit me that I may be dying today and may not even know my killer. That I may never be seeing my sisters again. That my father may happen to die today. So many things were running through my head as we walked up the final stairs to get to the helicopter. Everyone was up there, starring at one another as we were loaded up. Like always, it was district by district. I wanted to hold onto my father's hand as we went up, to tell him everything that I needed to say, but we were forced to have both hands on the bars as we were floated up and unable to move. When we got into the elevator was no batter though. A woman came over and jabbed something deep into my arm, saying that it was some sort of tracker.

" You remember what was told from you guys?" My father whispered.

" Yep." I smiled back, my arm throbbing.

" Just make sure that you are a good catch." He whispered back.

Once all of the districts were loaded on, we were up and in the air in no time. It was the first time that I had ever been in the air before and will most likely be one of the last times. I could feel my stomach getting butterflies and my heart starting to pick up pace as I looked around outside of the windows. There was just all green grass for as far as you could see! It was a little scary to know that there was no one in these areas but then again something that you would expect. At one point when I looked out I saw a blue butterfly, it was just floating near the window. I smiled as it flew past. But just as it came close, the windows went black, meaning that we were close.

I could feel my heart pounding inside of my head as Remo helped me into a blue outfit, something that would show my district apart from all of the others while in the arena. He told me to just keep calm and that everything would be over as soon as I knew it. Laughed a little at this because we both knew that the Hunger Games, last usually around two to four weeks. It all depending on how much they liked the tributes and the views of the arena. I got on some dark plant pants, tight to the legs but also still being able to run in them. An all blue shirt that was a little baggy, but still good enough. Some hiking books and a coat to go over it, that as well was blue.

We waited on the couch together until it was time to be sent up to my fate, we barely spoke, just sat there, together, him holding onto my hand and rubbing on my back to try and comfort me. I was trying to restrain from having and mental attack almost the whole time. I felt like my whole body was just going to give out in front of me. As we waited he was talking about his styling my dress for the interview afterward and about how when they were reviewing everything how I would look them as well. He has already planned ahead for almost everything, I could see it now.

" Looks like it's time to go." He said as two peacemakers walked forward. " Common then."

We followed the two to a cylinder, something that they would bring me up on to the arena. I looked at it scared as I moved towards it and was almost forced to be placed into it. I looked over at Remo who was nodding his head and trying to tell me to calm down. I could almost scared as Everything below me started to move upward. As I looked up I could no see anything besides gray and could feel a cold rush coming for me with small water droplets. As my platform met with the rest of the ground I could see no one around me, nothing but two stone walls and could hear the countdown going on around me.

100. There were no people that I could see, just the cornucopia in front of me. It was the only thing that I could see. I knew that we were all placed usually in front of it, so that means on either side of these two walls would be someone else. Ninety. Though it could be my enemy or my best friend in the world, I did not know. I stood there as the countdown continued and wondered what the people at home where thinking about this arena. I could not see anyone, could not tell were my allies were, and that was something that the gamekeepers did very often. Eighty. The rain was starting to come down harder and harder with every second passing.

" Marvel?" I screamed at the top of my lungs, knowing that yelling Dad would not work so well.

Seventy-two.

" To your left and over a few!" He screamed back

" Caron!" I screamed as loud as I could.

Sixty-five.

" On your direct right." He said lighter then Marvel had.

" Katniss!" I screamed as loud as I could. " Listen for her guys!"

Fifty. There were not voices calling out anywhere, no one could hear a thing. Just the rain and the countdown.

Forty.

" She's over here!" Marvel said. " Almost ninety-degrees from me." Meaning that she was on the direct opposite side from me.

Thirty-five.

" Marvel?" Another voice screamed through the stones. It was very distant and almost un-hearing

" Mom?" Marvel screamed.

Twenty-three

" You remember everything that we talked about last night, everything that we have planned, right?" Cashmere almost begged.

Eighteen.

" Yeah I remember everything. Promise Mom." Marvel replied with.

" Caron! You remember everything that you have been told and remember to stay quite until you know for sure that it is us!" Caron's mother stated.

Nine.

" See anything?" I screamed.

" Just the cornucopia." Caron screamed.

Three.

" Same here." Marvel yelled.

Two.

" Let's get this thing started." I yelled.

One.

Just like that my feet took off, running to my right and dragging onto Caron's shirt and starting to pull it away from the cornucopia and more towards Marvel, who was already taking off to find Katniss. We were a team, a family, and we would not leave someone else behind. I looked around as I ran to see that it was all one stone area, that there were plenty of different wars out between the tributes entry ways. We were in our own little rat maze and they were making the rats just a little wetter with the rain! The ground was turning to mud under us as we ran from the cornucopia and met up with Marvel, who was carrying Katniss in his arms.

" Is she alright?" I asked as I looked around to see the girl from district three die at the hands of Cashmere.

" She's just completely stunned, could not even get off of her platform." Marvel said as he looked at the little girl in his arms.

" Run!" Cashmere yelled at the four of us. " Now!" We did as we were told.

" Summer!" My father yelled. I looked back and saw a yellow pack coming in my direction. It was nearly the size of my body, but I knew that I had to get it.

Though it fell short by a few feet, people were already running for it. Coming in front so many different direction. But my father wanted me to have this pack, so I ran for it first. Diving to the ground for it, as I felt something else diving into me, most likely an arm. I pulled the yellow pack over my back and started to push people off of me, most of them not even having any weapons in them yet and any for where my allies and run off to. They had not waited up for me, most likely not even knowing that I had left them, and went through the maze.

I moved through the maze with listening to their footsteps that were softy coming through the maze, not too sure if it was my allies or someone else going through this. I wanted to scream out my friends names, but was a little two afraid that I may not be following the people that I thought that I was. So I followed them through dead-ends and through traps until I was almost at the point of screaming my head off because it seemed like there was no way out! It took almost all of my energy just to drag the damn pack behind me, I thought at one point that it was dragging on the ground. It was one big maze with no opening to anyplace else!

" Summer!" Someone screaming, it was Marvel. " Summer there you are!"

" Hey!" I smiled, feeling a little tired from all of the walking.

" I think that we found the way out of this place it's just that we are waiting for our parents to get here before we venture out too far." Marvel said with a smile as Caron and Katniss came into view.

" Well look who got her legs back." I smiled as she came and stood next to me.

" Watcha got in the bag?" She asked.

" Not sure yet, wanna see?" I laughed as I sat down on the ground, feeling a little light headed, and took the pack off of my back. And opening it to find a treasure of sorts.

Had so many good things in there that no one could really say anything as we handed them out to one person or another. There was a bow and some arrows that we all guessed belonged to Katniss, like mother like daughter. A small spear for Caron, who admitted to us that he was a very good throw with it and loved to be able to have one to use with us. He smiled the whole time as he held it up beside him. Marvel had gotten some matched, flint, and to add onto that he also got an axe. And for myself? I got so many knifes that I did not have enough placed to hide all of them! It was like knife heaven, I started to cut little holes into my jacket and placed them into there, knowing that there were safe in there. My father had really done well to make sure that the four of us would be safe and sound.

" So how many do you think died?" Marvel asked.

" I know of at least one." I laughed a little because no one understood.

" I'd say about nine." Caron stated.

" Do you think that our parents are alright?" Katniss asked.

" Yes. They will be coming as soon as it's all over with and they have figured their way out of that mess." Caron smiled as he rubbed her head.

" Good." Katniss smiled a little.

" Common, we should stay close to here, incase they come, but we should also make some shelter or something before the sun goes down. We're gonna need a place to sleep tonight." I said as I got up and picked up the newly lightened pack.

" Oh my god!" Katniss nearly screamed.

" What?" I asked, looking back.

" You're-You're bleeding!" Marvel said.

" What?" I asked, looking on my body.

" Your back, it's covered in blood." Caron said as he touched it and I could feel the wetness coming onto my back.


	12. Chapter 12

Rain. It was like they had placed us into a hurricane and decided that it would not stop the games from happening. Marvel and Caron had decided that they were going to have to get the girls out of the maze because we needed to find shelter, soon. Caron took Katniss over his arms, she was feeling a little better, but she was still trembling way to much to be able to really move anywhere on her own. I think that the only thing that I did to help the poor girl was make it worse for her, showing her what could really happen in these games. I tried to walk, but Marvel said that until we could get my back patched up, he would be taking over almost all of my movements for me. He also became a heater for me as well, trying to keep my core body temperature up as high as he could.

Marvel had wrapped his gold jacket over my body and kept me very close to his body, making sure that I kept some body heat in the rain. I could feel that the blood was going through my skirt, I could feel it seeping in to everything I had on, going down my body and into my pants even. The boys had tried to tell me that it was not a deep wound, that I would be fine just as soon as they found some supplies and they would be able to patch it up. I knew that they were lying to keep me out of shock and to make sure that Katniss would not go into another panic attack. I felt so child-like, being wrapped in a jacket-like blanket and being cradled by Marvel. He kept looking down at me and making sure that I was still awake, saying that he did not want me to pass out because of the blood, both of us knowing that it would mean that I was dying. He kept on talking to me as well, to make sure that I was still stable.

Marvel was getting very wet though, he himself was starting to shake fiercely with the cold rain pouring down on all of us. I could feel the goosebumps that were coming to his skin from where my head and his arm were touching, where my skin and skin were being connected. I begged him to take back his jacket, that I would be fine without it, but he just shook off my words and kept walking, deeper into the rain. We seemed to walk for what seemed like hours, until the sun was nearly out of sight, that's when we heard the cannons go off finally. One for each person that have died already.

" How many was that?" I asked, looking up at Marvel.

" Ten." He said darkly as he kept walking.

" Are you sure it was really ten?" Caron asked from behind, him still carrying Katniss.

" Yes, I made sure that I counted correctly." Marvel hissed back.

" I'm betting six of them were the victors children." I said weakly.

" That would leave four left." Caron said, almost saddened by his own words.

Four. For each of us, the children, there were four parents. Meaning that all of our parents could have died already, but then again it could mean that they had all powered out of it and had killed all ten people as well. But we were struck by the evil thoughts of having our parents dead. I could hear Katniss trying to restrain herself from crying, the soft hiccups of sadness coming from inside Caron's strong arms. As for myself, I just laid in Marvel's warm arms and tried to look up at the sky, which was becoming very dark by now, we were still stuck at the outer ends of the maze, trying to figure our way out. Marvel's face had not changed one bit since we had first spoken, keeping strong for the camera's or keeping strong for the group.

" I see it!" Caron yelled, so much joy coming from his voice.

" Me too! Common!" Marvel yelled as they went into a full out sprint for an exit. I looked up to see that there was an exit, about three yards away from us, and there was still rain to come.

" I see a something!" Marvel screamed as they were running, only a yard from it now.

" What does it look like to you? A wall?" Caron asked.

" No. something different." He replied to his ally.

" It's a forest!" Katniss said, nearly thrilled.

" Make a break for it!" Caron yelled as we made it through the opening, into the wild.

We ran through endless vines and different types of trees, the sky becoming darker and the rain becoming lighter because of the coverage. As some points there were no drops of rain at all, just the sound of it coming through the trees. We stopped only a few yards from the opening, to make sure that we would still be able to see it when people came out of the maze, to make sure that we would be able to ambush them and also to find out parents. We chose a spot where there were very few places that rain was coming through and would be enough coverage to get us through the night and still be able to see when they showed us who died tonight.

" I think that this will do pretty well. Caron, you jacket?" Marvel asked, still holding me in his arms.

" Why in the world would I give you that?" Caron hissed, drabbing on tighter to it.

" For her Caron!" Marvel nearly screamed, looking down at me. " Because she could die without the proper heat and because she needs something to lie down on that will not be covered in mud and dirt! She will bleed to death!"

" I think that I saw some plants back there that can help heal the wound pretty well, it should also help to stop the bleeding pretty quickly. I will go and get it if you come with me, Caron." Katniss said, I am betting that Caron had already let her down.

" Fine, that my only source of heat. Just know that it is only because it's for her." Caron hissed and threw his silver jacket in our direction and walked off with Katniss.

Marvel tried to make sure that I would be put down gently, but still failed as hard as he could at doing it. He tried to say over and over again how sorry he was for not being there to protect me, that he should have tried harder at it. Marvel and Caron were still playing off their part of being the boys in love, just as much as they could. Marvel slowly started to take off the layers of clothing that I had over me body, getting the blood soaked shirt off of me and leaving me in just my underwear on the top. I smiled a little bit, being happy to get the blood off of my clothing and being able to get a little fresh air over me wound. Marvel tried as much as he could to relieve the tension and to try and make sure that I was still comprehending everything that was going on, if it was still fully there.

" Listen, I'm going to try and get this shirt as clean as I can from the rain just a few feet away and then try to get some of the dried blood away from your body. Okay? Just keep talking to me as much as you can, alright Summer? As long as you don't mind that I will be here and that you are not fully dressed." Marvel said, I could hear the awkwardness in his voice, though I was face down.

" Marvel, I don't give a rats ass if you see me like this. Just go get my shirt clean and get back here to clean my wound like a good little boy." We both laughed a little as he walked away, just far enough to were I could still see him though.

" So what was the plan with you and your mother, same as with mine and my fathers?" I asked, looking over at the boy.

" Probably." He snickered as he let the rain come over my once blue shirt.

" To run as fast and you could and get the hell out of there before anyone really found you out?" I asked, smiling a little.

" Yep, that seems like most of the plan. And to make sure that you would be making it out alive, safe and sound." He laughed a little as he looked back over to me, my back starting to throb.

" Well I guess that we both kind of failed at doing _exactly _what our parents asked us to do." I smiled lightly. " Marvel, I think that I am getting out of shock right now. Holy crap!" I cried out.

" What? What is it?" He ran over, placing his hands on both of my shoulder-blades.

" Pain. Lots and lots of pain. Where did Caron and Katniss go to get those plants all the way back to district twelve?" I cried out, the pain was coming in fierce now.

" They are going to be coming back just as soon as the find everything that they need, okay? You just have to hold in there just a little longer Summer. The pain will all go away in just a few minutes, okay? Everything is going to be just fine." Marvel said as he brushed my hair with his fingers, placing the ice-cold shirt onto my back.

" Marvel, how bad is it, really?" I asked, almost regretting asking the question instantly.

" Not that bad at all really, I mean it's about two inches deep and about maybe an inch wide. It's just that it will not stop bleeding! And now the fact that it is starting to hurt does not help the case any bit." He said gravely. " It will all be okay though, promise." He smiled down at me.

" Thanks for trying." I laughed a little, knowing that it was worse then he was saying.

Katniss rushed back and instantly put the mixture of leaves and I really do not care what else, onto my back. Helping with the pain almost instantly, which by the time that they had gotten back was becoming unbearable. I think that in a moment of brief pain, I had begged Marvel to put me out of my misery. But Marvel had refused because, as I was, I was now able to sit up on my own without having blood gushing out of my back. Katniss had also found a rather sticky substance of leaves that she had placed all over my wound, to make sure that the blood would be controlled if and when it did come back. She then moved to my clothing, which she took and moved back into the rain-zone, to be properly cleaned.

" Well, we now know how she had gotten such a high score from the gamekeepers. She is one amazing doctor." Caron smiled as he watched the girl from afar.

" That is so true, I mean I feel like nothing had happened to me and that _maybe _I had ran a little too far for the day or _something_." I smiled as I looked over at Marvel. " Thank you."  
>" For what?" He asked, smiling though.<p>

" For saving my life, keeping me alive, and risking getting tuberculous to make sure that I would be able to go on with these games! For not killing me when I begged and begged you too, or I think that I did that." I shrugged.

" Well, we will go with that because it makes me sound more like a hero." Marvel laughed.

" And for letting me wear your jacket as if it was a shirt." I smiled down at his silver jacket, wrapped around my body.

" Well I thought that you may like something over your torso area, since your shirt will not be dry for who knows how long." Marvel said lightly.

" You want my jacket too? You could use it in other places." Caron asked as we all laughed.

That's when the music came on and that noted when we were able to talk on our own for a few minutes and then they would be showing all of the dead that that been killed today. I felt a sinking feeling coming to my whole body as I thought of my fathers face coming onto the screen and sunk even deeper into Marvel's jacket. Caron and Marvel started to talk about things, but I just looked deeper into the woods, wondered how far they went before you would just hit a force field. Katniss came back over to our spot, putting my shirt up onto one of the nearer branches, and sat down between Caron and myself. She seemed to really have taken a liking to Caron since just a few nights ago. But then the faces started to come on the screen, the dead.

Both the victor and child from district three were shown up on the screen, meaning that both Caron and Marvel's moms were safe and sound somewhere in the maze. Nothing came up for district four, meaning that my father was still alive out there! I nearly screamed when I saw that my fathers face was not up there! A wide smiling coming to my face instantly. Both parent and child had died I from district five, the child being the once that I had watched die. District six's victor was dead, a male that I had seen with his son a few times. The victors from districts seven and eight. District nine's child. Both from district ten. The victor from district eleven was the final face to be shown on the screen before the capitol's emblem went back into the sky and then everything went dark once again.

" All of our's had lived through the blood bath!" Marvel smiled as he yawned.

" All of them." Katniss clapped.

" For now." Caron stated.

" Until it's just the eight of us." I frowned. It was odd how our conversations could turn on a dime like that. " Well I think that two of us should really start to get to sleep, I volunteer to take the first shift." I smiled, going to sleep would be my downfall right about now.

" I will stay up with her." Marvel said.

" No way man, you have been yawning since we have settled down. Get some sleep before you get one of us killed by falling asleep on watch. Summer and I can handle it!" Caron said as he nearly pushed Marvel to the ground. " Do you want my jacket to keep you warm?" He laughed.

" None of you will find warmth in mine." I laughed as I showed them the rows of knives I had in mine.

" That is the truth if I have ever heard it, well I don't mind getting a little sleep." Katniss smiled as she took off her jacket and wrapped it into a little pillow. " Let me know when one of you wants to get some sleep, I will take over." And that was that.

While the other two slept though, Caron and I took shifts really watching over for the other while one works on making a shelter. Since I was good with my hands and could make anything into a net, I just made the " net " thinner and make a little roof over Caron's shell of a little hut. I was making _everything _out of the vines that I was finding on the tree's, a nice hard substance. It would feel all of the rain out of the shelter and Attached to all four sides. I then made another roof, a little bigger to make sure that the rain would just all off the side of the roof, and attached that back on. By the time that either Marvel or Katniss really woke up from their deep slumber, Caron and I had make a shelter with three walls, and a sturdy roof. All of this was right around the two that were sleeping. When Marvel woke up, I was working on a sort of mat to put under them while they slept. I could see that the sun was also trying to rise, but the clouds were not allowing anything to cut through.

" What in the world are you letting her do all of this work for, Caron? She is going to re-open her wounds and then who in the world would know if we would be able to heal that back up in time! What were you thinking?" Marvel hissed at Caron, trying to make sure that he did not wake up Katniss, who was still sound asleep.

" He did not have very much of a choice in the matter, Marvel. I decided to help him when he wanted to build a shelter, for when the rain does come through here. It was something that was needed to keep us from getting sick out here! Besides, I am the best in making this kind of stuff. So I decided to help, end of story." Marvel came over to me and scooped my face into his hands.

" You know that you could really hurt yourself by doing that, right?" He asked softly.

" Yes, but I wanted the better for the group, not the better for just once, Marvel." I smiled as I touched his face. " You want to go to sleep, Caron?"

" And leave you two love birds alone? Not a chance in the world." He laughed deeply, as if I had told the best joke in the world.

" What? Oh common now, I left you two alone last night. I trusted you to take care of her and look what you did to her! I think that a squirrel could do a better job with her then you could!" Marvel laughed a little as he picked up his axe.

" Well go get some sleep, Summer, you need to more then any of us do because of your wound. We can take it from here, promise." Caron said with a smile as he waved me off.

" Okay fine, but make sure that Marvel gets a fire going and then put it out, we will need to for tonight. It got real cold last night." I yawned as I moved for the shelter.

" It could be a good idea, it will bring our parents to us." Marvel smiled.

" Or our enemy's." Caron said lightly, spear pointed towards the wild.

" Let it. I said as I stuck my knife into the grass near where I would be going to sleep. " We're ready." I whispered as I looked over a little Katniss, who had slept with her bow loaded with an arrow last night.


	13. Chapter 13

There was a beeping sound a few feet above my head when I woke up. It was a soft sound, but kept going on and on, like an odd beat. I could hear that Caron and Marvel were bickering about something behind one of the walls that had been built up and I sighed as I looked over at Katniss, who was smiling at me lightly, still waking up. I could feel a small throbbing coming from my back, but did not dare to even think about stretching or touching it.

" How do you feel?" Katniss asked.

" Like I have been kicked a thousand times in the back, but I mean other then that I feel just peachy. How long have I been out for?" I asked.

" Awhile I think." She shrugged as she slowly sat up.

" How long have they been like that?" I asked, nodding towards the outside world.

" Pretty long, I think that Caron may try to kill Marvel soon." She smiled a little as she got up and placed her hand out for me to take. " I think that it would be a good match to see."

" You sure have that much right." I laughed as she helped my up, a burning sensation coming from my back. " Do you hear that?" I asked as I still heard the beeping.

" Yeah. . . you don't think that we already have a gift, do you?" Katniss asked as she nearly ran out of the little hut.

" I guess that you do." I laughed as I made my way out of the hut.

That was what Caron and Marvel were fighting over this time. . . our first gift has arrive and they were trying to figure out a way to get it! It was in one of the trees around us branch. From the looks of them, they had been trying to get it for awhile now. I smiled as it was only a few feet above the ground, it seemed like it would be an easy task to just climb up a few branches and get it. But I mean what was the point of putting it in the trees? The sponsors and gamekeepers were always nice enough to make sure that it landed in a place where you could get them. No matter in harsh weather or night, they were always able to get them.

" What do you think could be in it?" I asked, looking up the tree.

" Food?" Caron asked.

" Food would be nice." Marvel smiled, the first time that they had agreed while out here.

" We can get food, I have seen things that could be hunted." Katniss said as she placed her bow and arrow over her shoulder. " I bet it's from district four, they know that you are in pain."

" I doubt it, I mean it's probably something small if it is for me like some bandages." I shrugged.

" Well lets find out." Katniss smiled as she climbed up into the tree like a little monkey.

" Way to go Katniss!" I laughed as she got the container that the gift was in and shook it around. " Throw it down and then climb up and tell us what you can see from up there. I think there is a clearing about twenty feet up, you wanna go look?" I asked from the bottom of the tree.

" I would love to!" She smiled as she dropped down the container to me and started to climb.

" There anything that kid can't do?" Caron asked with a smug look on his face.

" Probably not." I laughed as I opened the container and nearly dropped to the ground.

There it was right in front of me; a full, very large, bottle of healing cream and some clean bandaged. I could not believe that it was me that had gotten the first gift of the whole games. . . or the fact that it was something to heal the firs person injured from the games. I smiled as laid on the ground and allowed Caron to rub some of the healing cream onto my wound, instantly I could feel a cooling sensation and let out a sigh of relief. The pain was fading, quickly and all I could do was smile and close my eyes, it felt heavenly.

" Okay guys!" Katniss yelled from below.

" What do ya see?" Marvel asked, resting on a tree a few feet away from Caron and I.

" Two fires are in the maze, one is pretty small, like the one that we have. . . but the other. . ." She looked down at us. " Gamekeeper made."

" How big?" I asked, feeling a sinking feeling in my heart, our parents were still not here.

" Pretty big, I mean it is half the size of the maze. We only saw a quarter of the maze, I guess that we had just picked a lucky path to go on." She said, sounding amazed.

" Can you see anyone?" Caron asked.

" No." She called back.  
>" Anything that you can see outside of the maze?" Marvel asked.<p>

" We are surrounded by forest. I mean I think that I see a clearing, but it's pretty far away from here. But I can bet you anything that that's a clearing for water." She said.

" How far away?" Caron asked.

" Over a days hike." She said lightly.

" Alright then, come down." I said lightly as I stood up, feeling no pain at all.

" Wait! I see them you guys! I see them!" She was smiling and pointing towards the way that we had come in.

" Our parents!" I could feel my heart skipping a beat.

" They are so close to the end!" She smiled.

" Thank you!" Marvel said as he looked up towards the sky.

" Common, we should go and meet them, make sure that they are all okay." Caron said, a big smile on his face.

" Hurry down!" I yelled up at Katniss, who was all smiles as she looked over towards the maze.

That's when a sound came that I had never heard before, when I looked up at Katniss she was nearly screaming her lungs off. It was a _whooshing_ sound and then screaming came from all over. Katniss was trying to say something as Caron and Marvel glanced up at her, their faces were as shocked as hers was. We could hear that something happened, the screams were coming from inside of the maze, I could feel my own heart dropping onto the ground, hearing Caron and Marvel's hitting the ground, and Katniss' falling from the skies. When I looked up at Katniss once again, she was screaming for us, waving us upward.

" They just flooded the maze!" She screamed. " The water is going to come here next! Hurry!" She screamed.

As Caron and Marvel went right for the tree that Katniss was in, I ran the other direction; for all of our things were still spread around the area. I dragged my medication for my back, Marvel's jacket, which he had taken off, the fire starting kit, the spear, and Marvel's axe. I ran for the little hut and could hear the water was coming too close to me. I could hear a bang from the canons and knew that someone had just died, most likely from lack of air. I drabbed onto my jacket and ran for the tree whee the boys were screaming my name from. I started to pack Everything that would fit into the small pockets that I had around my jacket.

" Hurry! You have to get higher then that!" Katniss said as I handed Marvel some of the things and wrapped both his and my jackets onto my body.

" Take the weapons!" I screamed as I handed them up.  
>" I want to get you up here before them!" Marvel screamed back.<p>

" Give them to me you fool." Caron hissed as he started to pick up the small amount of things. " She is stubborn, she would have never came up here without knowing those were safe." Caron smiled as he started to climb up the three.

I grabbed onto Marvel's hands as he started to just drag me up the tree, not even allowing me to take a step onto it. I could hear the water coming, see it for a moment, and then, I was under it all. I could hear Marvel screaming my name, his hands still locked around mine as I started to panic. I was taking in too much water and I knew it. I could see Marvel's face screaming upward and trying to pull me back up. I could feel the water trying to drag me out of the way. I knew that I could last a long time underwater, but I was in a panic and taking in too much water. Soon enough I was choking on the water. That's when I felt a sharp pain in my head and felt I nice flow of air to my lungs.

" There you go." Caron said as he and Marvel lifted me out of the water and father up the tree. " Sorry that I had to pull on your hair, Sweetheart, but it was the only way to get you up."

" It- It's fine." I said as I took in more air.

" You are soaked to the bone!" Katniss said from the top of the tree, where the rain was still coming down hard.

" You three will be soon as well, looks like were back out in the rain for awhile." I said lightly. Another bang from the canons. " Who do you think that it was?"

" Not your father, he is just like you." Caron said. " Aquatic."

" Not if he was caught off guard." I shivered lightly.

" They were all caught off guard." Marvel said lightly.  
>" They were so close to being out of there. . . we were going to see them in just a few minutes." Katniss said lightly, a tree branches above us.<p>

" They are just fine!" I said. " We are going to see them in a few minutes and they are just fine! Okay?"

" Okay." I could see that I was not helping at all, but I needed her to stay calm. Another bang. Three.

We looked from face to face and knew that if we heard one more bang from the canons that we all may have to lose it right then and there. There was something in the way that they were happening so close, something in the way they just sounded, that made us think that it was our parents. Marvel and Caron were trying to stay strong, both off on different branches of trees now, but they both also looked like they could cry any second. Katniss stayed up higher then the rest of us, looking for heads like bobers in the water, watching the hovercraft's lift up and take the soaked bodies away. Though she could not tell who the bodies were, she was starting to tear up. All I could feel was the stinging cold of the water, going down to the bone of my body, the numbness starting to take over.

" Look," Caron said lightly as he looked below us. " the water is washing right away."

" Looks like someone pulled the pug on the bathtub." Marvel said with a smile as he started to climb down the pine tree.

" Maybe we should stay up here for a little longer, to make sure that if anyone comes, we will have the advantage on them?" I asked lightly, looking up at Katniss.

" No one is coming this was, they are all either barely alive in there, or got out in time, no common." Marvel said.

" I'm with him on this one. We need to go find out parents." Caron said as she slid down the tree after Marvel.

" I guess we should go with them." Katniss shrugged. " Make sure that they do no kill one another." Katniss laughed a little.

" Still want to see that, don't you?" I asked.

" Just like I want to know how much they truly care about you." Katniss said. " I mean they both _did _save your life, instead of just letting you wash away. Normally, our kind would have just let you swim away. But then again, we are _good hearted _people." She laughed even harder.  
>" Of course we are!" I shivered as I stepped into the newly formed mud.<p>

We moved through the soaked trees and vines slowly, all weapons drawn as we moved. Caron took the lead with myself following close behind. Katniss was in back, making sure that no one was following us, and Marvel had the upper area to make sure that no one was going to attack from above. We moved in this unit until we made it to the opening on the maze, where we were on highest of alerts. The walls were still dripping of water and blood as we all starred at it. I could hear that Katniss was trying to keep it all locked inside as we looked around, there was no signs of life.

" They never even took a step out of there before they were washed right away!" I yelled and kicked the stone wall. " They never even got the chance!"

" They are fine." Marvel said, trying to be the common sense that we all needed.

" Yeah, fine as dead." Caron hissed. " We all know that the one that made it out was most likely Summer's dad, I mean think about it, they are the ones that had the most experience with water."

" And Katniss' dad probably survived around the fire because he is used to being around it during his job Caron! None of our parents have ever worked a day in their lives, none of us really know our own professions! It could have been any of them who made it out of there!" I snapped.

" I'm just saying that you have the better chance of things like that." Caron said, almost sounding hurt.

" We just have to wait it out, someone had got to be coming out of there." Marvel said lightly.

So that is just what we did, we stood at the entrance of the maze and just waited for any signs of life to come out of there. The rain was beginning to come to a halt as we all looked around, yes, the clouds were beginning to break away from one another, the sun was shinning through a little. It seemed like an eternity when Katniss finally shot an arrow into the sky, sending us all into high alert. My knife ending up in a tree near the the opening of the forest, Caron having his axe swung towards the entrance of the maze, and Marvel throwing his spear into the ground a few feet beside Katniss. As we all looked over at the little girl, shaking a little and all very angry, she smiled at us and pointed to a tree a few feet behind Marvel. Handing from her arrow was a large bird, a goose. I could feel the sun sinking into my clothes.

" How did you. . ." Caron said, almost amazing as he looked at the dead animal.

" Lots of practice." She said smugly as she took the arrow out of the animal and placed it back into her container with the others.

" That is amazing." Marvel smiled.

" It won't do much good, but we will all get _something _to eat." I smiled as I wrapped my arm around Katniss. " Good job kid!" That's when we all heard the footsteps from inside of the maze.

Instantly we all went into an even higher alert, Katniss and Marvel both made their way into the woods as little, getting a better shot at whoever came out of the rooms, as Caron and I stayed on either side of the wall. Marvel and Katniss would try to do their worst to whoever came out, we would just finish the job if they did not. We could hear their steps and could tell that there was more then one of them walking around, they were also in a group. I could hear their voices and then heard the arrow come right beside my head, shooting right into the maze.

" Watch it!" Someone screamed.

" Stop!" Marvel yelled, dropping his spear to the ground. " Mom?" He called into the maze.

" Marvel!" The woman screamed back, and through the maze cam a woman that I would have never guess to be Cashmere.

" Mom!" Marvel said as he wrapped the woman into his arms. She was covered in ash and soaked to the bone in water. Enobaria walked out next to Peeta.

" Mom!" Caron said as he smiled and wrapped his arm around his mother, who looked very tried and also over in ash and water.

" Daddy!" Katniss cried from inside the forest and ran for him.

" Katty!" He screamed as he can for his daughter. I looked around for someone else to come out of the maze, but no one showed up, I fell to the ground.

" Dad?" I called out. " Dad?" I screamed as the tears began to flow from my eyes. " Where is my father?" I begged.

" Oh Summer. . ." Cashmere said lightly.

" Where is my dad?" I asked, not looking up from the ground. " Where is he?" I screamed.

" Summer. . ." Cashmere said, I felt someone wrap their arms around me.

" We lost him during the flood. . . we all got split up from one another. We do not know where he is right now. For all that we know. . . he could be just fine." Peeta said lightly, still holding onto his daughter.

" He is fine. We just have to wait it out for him to make his way out." Marvel said as he wrapped his arm around me and brought me into his body.

As he tried to calm me down and day turned into night we all waited for the anthem to come onto the screen. We did not leave our spot from the clearing because we had an even stronger group of people now, there is power in numbers. Katniss and Peeta had taken up to hunting and gathering things as the rest of the group built a fire and a shelter; all the while Marvel and I stayed wrapped into one another's arms. The water was gone from both of our bodies, but I could feel the warmth was not going to do anything for me. We waited until it was fully day and when the anthem played loudly, I closed my eyes. _No, not today._ I kept telling myself as I looked into the sky, eyes already wet. He was the first to come up on the screen, **my father. **I felt empty inside, but I felt myself get up and leave the group.


	14. Chapter 14

They were following me, of course they would be following me, I was going deeper into the woods alone! I was crying, but trying to keep myself in check because after all, I was in the hunger games, there was no crying no matter what happened. I looked into the sky and just wanted to sit there and just wait for someone to come along and kill me, there was nothing left for me here anyway. Then it was all I could so but to think about my sisters at home, all three of us orphaned, losing a sister as well. **No. ** I would go home for them, no matter what would happen.

" Summer! Come back!" Marvel shouted through he vines, a fire leading his way through the woods.

" Summer! Summer!" Caron said, his voice sounded concerned. I dropped to the ground as I listened for their voices.

" Sum! Sum!" Marvel said as he dropped to the ground beside me and drew me into his lap. " I am so sorry." He whispered as he rocked me gently.

I cried as hard as I could into his chest, making sure that none of my face as being shown in the cameras, I just cried. I cried for my father, who was dead and already on his way home to be buried. I cried for my sisters, who already knew how he had died and had to watch it happen live. I cried for Peeta, who was watching this at home and knew that I would not be coming back, at least the person that he loved would not be coming back. Finally, I cried for me, as I was being rocked gently on the floor of a forest by a boy I had met just a few days before. I could not keep it from slipping out, the noises that were coming, the kicking and screaming, everything was right into the boys body, but he did not move from his place.

I finally came to enough to notice that my legs and arms were wrapped tightly around the boys body, and him trying to calm me down. He was slowly petting down my hair and whispering things to me that did not make sense at all. Just telling me little things that would get me to calm down, things that would bring me back down to the earth, just anything. I looked up at him, my tear soaked face meeting up with his to notice that he was crying a little as well. He looked like he was hurt, he looked like he had been stabbed right in the heart as he looked down at me, moving the hair out of my face and wiping the tears from my eyes. Marvel looked almost human for that moment of time, like he was no made out of stone.

" Why are you crying? Did I hurt you?" I asked finally, thinking that I may have hit him pretty hard.

" No you didn't." He replied with.

" Then why?" I asked.

" Because I do not like to see you cry, I hate seeing you hurt, that's all." He said as he picked me up. " Common, it has been a long day."

" You know, I can walk." I said as I was being cradled in his arms.

" You shouldn't have to though, you have had a long day." Marvel smiled as he looked over at Caron.

" I want to." I hissed.

" Well to bad, I do not want you to run off." He said as he brought me back to the group.

Peeta and Katniss were sleeping under the makeshift shelter that was made by the rest of the group later that day, though Katniss was deep in sleep, Peeta was still looking around. Cashmere was guarding the east and south with a sword while Enobaria was guarding the opposite. Caron followed us to the clearing as he yawned a little and moved towards his mother, Marvel placing me on the ground but still not letting me go.

" Want to help me build up the shelter, it seems a little weak if you ask me." I smiled as I looked over at Caron, who was scowling at me.

" Love to." Marvel smiled.

We worked well into the night, going deeper and deeper into the woods to get supplies for the shelter. It was not my best work, but by the time that I was done it with it could fit all of us in it at one time without all of being body-to-body. I smiled a little as I looked down at my fingers and saw that there were red and raw and I could feel it as well. It hurt a lot, but it was still feeling something. I knew that my father and the child from district six had died yesterday. I felt happy to be alive, to be there for my father. Marvel smiled as he looked at the job that he did and yawned, it was almost time to shift changed and the boys really needed some sleep.

" You should get some sleep." I whispered to Marvel as we walked through the woods.

" You as well." He laughed, knowing there was _no _sleep in my near future.

" I think it's time for shifts, common." I said, grabbing onto Marvel.

" No. Stay here, with me." He smiled as he nudged me close to a tree.

" Why?" I asked as I looked up at him and he gave me a wink.

We were supposed to still be in love- the three of us and I had completely forgotten about it. I looked around, as if I could see the camera's and begged Peeta to look away with my mind, knowing that our connection was strong and if he was watching he would see thing and know. Marvel placed his hand on my hip and smiled lightly as he moved in closer to me, backing me right back into a thick tree that was behind me. It was a great way for us to get the people in the capital on our side. Marvel's hand was moving lightly from my hip to my thigh and then back to my hip, he was no newbie to this, like I was.

" You have had a really rough day." He whispered as he moved in closer to my ear.

" I have." I said lightly, feeling him move his lips to my neck. " Marvel-"

" I know, but this may be the only time that we will ever have to do this." He said lightly, looking around.

" Marvel, I- I just want this to be important, okay? I don't want you to think that I am just a piece in a competition between you and Caron, okay?" I asked, looking around. " I just want you to really want me."

" Of course I really want you, at least I am not just using you for the games, I really care about you." He whispered into my ear there was something too serious in the way he was talking.

" I don't believe you." The three of us were really friends, what was he saying.

" Well you should," Marvel moved his lips down my neck. " because this is as real as it gets."

A moment of fire and passion, there was something that was meaningful as he pulled me into his body, wrapping my legs around his and thrusting me into a tree. His lips meeting into mine and pulling me into his so close. There was no way around this, Marvel was so rough and strong and I loved every moment of it. His pulling my long blond hair out of the ponytail it had been in, me pulling his skirt right off of his back. No other clothing came off, though I think a layer of skin came off of Marvel, we were in the heat of the moment, so strong and passionate. Every part of my body meeting his, every tree he was thrusting me into getting harder and harder as he did it. Soon we were on the ground, me on top and him on the bottom.

" We could do it ya know. Give them a real show to watch." Marvel laughed a little as he kissed my neck once again.

" No way in hell would I ever do that on national television." I smiled as I touched his tight lightly.

" Oh, well too bad," He smiled as he flipped me so that I was on my back. " I really wanted to, so bad." He hissed a little as he went back to kissing me.

" Poor little Marvel." I laughed as we heard something coming from the brush.

" You hear something?" I asked.

" Yep." He hissed.

" Jacket." I said as I pulled my jacket close to me and got out a knife. " I get first shot on the both of them."

There were not coming from the way that we had come from, they were coming from deeper into the woods. I smiled a little as I hid in the darkness, opposite from Marvel, as they walked right into my path, there was something inside of me that was itching for this moment to happen. They stopped right there was they looked down to find Marvel's jacket in between two trees and looked around. It was only a ground of two, one victor and one child, one from district nine was the victor and the child from eleven. I took aim and hit the victor right in the eye, sending her to the ground instantly and charging at district six.

It was almost too easy, he was younger then I was and I tackled him to the ground almost as easily. There was something cold in me as I looked won at him, knife in hand, and saw there was no fear in this little boy from the south as he spit at me. I hissed at him, pinning his arms and legs under mine as he tried to squirm away, regretting what he had done to me just a moment before. I smiled down at the body with an evil grin as I opened my jacket, showing him all of the knifes that I had in front of me. I took out the largest one and jabbed it through the kids clothes, right down into his heart. The canon sounding almost instantly as I twisted it a little. I moved to the victor, who was choking up blood.

" I'm sorry." I whispered, she had done nothing wrong, just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. I quickly took the knife out of her eye socket and thrust it into her chest. The canon sounding as well to mark her death.

" You almost looked like a killer there for a moment." Marvel smiled as he came out of the woods.

" Pick up your jacket, your mother will be looking for us soon." I said as I kissed his neck, where a nice bruise had formed.

" I doubt that my mother will be the only thing that we have to worry about." He laughed as he took the knives from both bodies.

" Ten left." I smiled as I moved back to the clearing.

They were all looking around, knowing that the two of us were gone and that two canons had just fired worried all of them. Katniss nearly hit me with an arrow as we moved out of the clearing. All I could do was smiled as Caron dropped his weapons and came and hugged me, it was like the two of them had planned out this whole romance thing on this day of all days. He spun me around in the air and brought me in as close as he could to his body. Telling me how worried he had been. I smiled a little as I said that I was sorry and looked back at Marvel, saying that we got a little caught up in things back there. Lightly I smiled at Marvel came over and handed me my tie to pull back my hair with, which I did instantly.

" What in the world was that all about?" Enobaria hissed.

" Summer here just made her first two kills!" Marvel smiled as he smacked my back, hard.

" Way to go!" Caron said with a smile.

" Nice job, kid." Enobaria smiled, that's what made me feel very prideful, she was praising me.

I looked over to see that Peeta had a look on his face, almost like he had been hurt, as he moved Katniss back to their guarding spot. I looked down at my shoes and knew that something was wrong, the fact that I was happy to have killed to lives like that, there was something wrong inside my head. I cleaned off my knives, placed them back into my jacket, and moved to the shelter, giving into sleep and to Marvel, who crawled into the shelter with me. I closed my eyes, with the sun starting to come up as I finally relaxed my body. I knew that they would be replaying everything that had just happened to the people back as home by about nine because they knew that everyone would be awake. Peeta would know everything that I had done.

" You looked like a pretty good killer back there." Marvel whispered as he pulled me in close to him, his body feeling warm around mine.

" You looked pretty good before that." I laughed a little.

" Almost like you wanted to show off for someone like me." He whispered into my ear, sending chills down my spine.

" Maybe I did." I smiled as I turned to him, facing him full on.

" Well? Did you?" He asked.

" You will never know I guess." I smiled as I kissed his noise.

" Fuck!" Someone shouted from outside.

" What?" I yelled back as they all rushed inside.

" Rain came back!" Cashmere said as she moved to the other side of the shelter.

" It's coming down pretty damn hard, we are going to need to move to another place. Soon." Peeta said as he put up his hood.

" Common, the sooner the better." Enobaria said as she started to move out into the cold water, her hood by her shoulders.

" Well that was a good nights sleep." I smiled as I got up and out of the tent.

We walked in the direction that we thought that the water was going to be in. Knowing that the water that was falling from the sky could be poisoned or something like that, we were not going to take the chance of drinking anymore of it. The skies were black, a sign back at home of thunder storms, we moved quickly, trying to get out of the treed area before the storm fully hit. I signed as we mushed through the ground, which was becoming mud with the rain. It was just a rain storm, there was nothing that I wasn't used to before, but there seemed like something very dangerous about this rain, like there was something unknown about it. It seemed like we were going in the wrong direction, that something was telling us to go the other way. Something was wrong.

We kept moving, never stopping once to ask any questions. I was the only one to keep an eye on the sky though, knowing that any moment we could be hit with a bad storm, that we could be killed by lighting in a second, or something worse. Cashmere was leading the group, with Katniss directing her from behind. Marvel, Caron, and I took up the back, making sure that no one would come from behind, while the others took up the middle. We all moved quickly through the brush and vines as we walked through the mud and rain, marching on like soldiers in a war. All I could do was keep my feet moving as I was too tired to fight anything they were saying right now. I was almost sleep walking as we made it to the water bed.

" Finally!" Cashmere said as the sun was setting through the clouds.

" Fresh water!" Katniss said, running fully speed into the water, striping off closes as she went.

" This should be interesting." Caron said with a smirk on his face.

" Don't even think about it, Shoore." Peeta hissed as he followed his daughter to the water, yelling at her to put on some clothes the whole way down.

I sunk down to the tree that was closest to the water, I had been defeated by the sleep that I had gotten in the past two days, which was close to none. Marvel came and sat down behind me, bringing my body into his as he rested his body on the tree and mine on his. He started to hum a song to himself, slowing rocking me into the sleep with him as he hummed. I smiled and started to think about the shores at home, how they used to rock me to sleep. I pull myself into Marvel, letting his warmth and mine sink into one another's as I drift into a deep sleep. Something that is coming pretty easy to me.

Soon after that I started to think about Peeta. Me and him were on the beach shore and just laying in one another's arms. I smiled as he told me that he loved me, that I was his only one. I told him that I loved him back. From my half-sleep, I wondered about him, if he really did miss me or love me. Of course he missed me, he was my best friend, we had never been separated for this long before. Hell, the longest that we have been separated is when we have been sick before, which has only been a few days, ever. But the love thing strikes me hard, another question coming to hand. If this hunger games had not happened, would we only be friends? The answer hurts as I know that we would only be friends. Nothing more, nothing less. Marvel and mine has been made my the games, forced onto one another's for survival. So which one did I believe in more?


	15. Chapter 15

Sleep, it was something that was so deep and so pure. Not even being in the games could take that away from me, no matter who I was with, or how little I should trust them. I slept in the arms of Marvel and could feel myself melting into his frame. I could not tell how long I had been asleep, though I was stiff when I woke, I was still pretty happy as well. I smiled lightly as I felt the light movement and petting of my hair, showing that Marvel was already awake. I smiled a little as I turned a little to see the glowing of Marvel's face off of the rising sun. He smiled as he saw my movement and moved down and gave me a soft kiss on the lips.

" Good morning." I smiled and groaned.

" Morning to you too." He smiled as he stretched.

" They let us sleep all night long?" I asked, looking around to see that no one was around.

" I guess so, where do you think that they all went?" He asked as I got up, picking up my knife and brining my jacket close to me.

I walked around the shore of the water, looking around and finding no one. It seemed like they had just deserted us here or something. But then again, it would not surprise me if they just left us here to die. Soon though, Cashmere came to view from the shore line, right where the wave curved to the right at a ninety-degree angle. I smiled and gave a small wave as she waved back, showing her new weapon that she had found, it was a short-blade sword, good for cutting down vines. She was saying something about how they just knocked another one off, the kid from district six, and that's how she got it. Cashmere smiled as she was close enough to see that I was still tried and said she was sorry it most likely woke me up. I needed as much sleep as I could get. She moved quickly as another figure came into view, Enobaria, who looked like she was on a mission.

Enorbaria had Marvel's spear, she looked like she had been aiming at me, which made me scream like hell, getting my knifes out. I could feel the blood spurting out, could feel the heat coming towards me, but it was not my blood, it was Cashmere's. Enorbaria yelled for Caron, who came splashing towards her from the other end of the water. All I could think about was the spear that was now lounged into Cashmere's body, her starting to choke up blood. I looked from face to face as I dropped to the ground with Cashmere, resting her head in my lap as Marvel came from the other end to see what was going on. The look on his face broke my heart.

" Mom!" He yelled as he moved down beside of me.

" What did you do?" Caron yelled as he tried to move towards us, Enorbaria pulling him beside of her.

" You bitch!" Marvel screamed, trying to get up but Cashmere pulling him back down beside her.

" Marvel, you go and win this for me, you got it?" She asked, coughing up blood as she went, the spear was deep in her abdomen. " You go out there and win this thing for me and your brother. You now have to win this, keep your father and sister sane at home. Got it?" She smiled a little.

" I will Mom, just stay with me, okay?" He asked, moving the hair out of her face. " A sponsor will give us something soon, okay?" He cried out, a tear forming in his eyes.

" Be strong, little fighter." She laughed lightly, she was fading quickly and I felt so out of place, being there.

" I will Mom, just stay with me." Marvel pleaded with his mother.

" You take care of him for me, will ya, he can't survive out her alone." She turned her head and looked over to me. " Take care of my boy." She smiled lightly, putting her hand lightly on my face, she looked beautiful even here.

" I will, he will be well taken care of, till the final two." I smiled, holding her hand to my face, though it was covered in someone else's blood.

" Thank you Summer. Just so you know. . . Enorbaria was the last one with your father. She and him. . . they were together when we were washed away, she was seen with him last." She whispered, I looked over at her, a wave of hate coming to my eyes.

" I'll kill her, for you and my father." I smiled, looking down at the dying woman.

" Thank you." She whispered. " I love you kid." She said as she looked over at her son.

" I love you too, Mom." He whispered as he took the spear out of her body, the canon firing in the background.

Just like that, we were up on our feet once again, ready to attack. I looked at Caron, so hurt and so much in pain as he took his axe and aimed it at us, his mother now unarmed. I smiled as I took out my knife, ready to attack at any moment. It was a stand off though, we all just looked at one another, ready to fight but not wanting to be the first to move. I looked at the womans face and just noticed ever muscle that was moving on it. She was ready to kill just as much as I was, maybe even more. I face an eerie smile as I pulled out my largest knife, it would do a good job on the woman, cutting deep.

" I'm going to butcher you like the pig you are." I whispered as I looked over at Marvel.

" You take the woman, I'll take down Caron." He said.

" No, make sure that if he does not come on to you, you do not come onto him." I said, before I could even have the chance to let him speak, I was taking off. My feet were flying.

It was funny really, it was not how I expected it to be at all. She took off, into the woods a round her, running as fast as she could. I followed her footsteps, listening in closely as I chased after her. My feet were silent on the ground, unlike hers. I felt like the predator, not her. I smiled as I caught up with her, tackling her whole body on the ground, using my weight to pull her down to the ground and keep her under my weight, pressing my leg down and trying to crush her legs, one foot on one of her hands, my left hand over hers. I smiled as I looked down at the woman, who now looked mortified.

" How the fuck did you do it, huh? How did you do it?" I screamed, pressing the knife down to her throat.

" Do what?" She cried out.

" How the hell did you kill my father, like you did to Cashmere? Or did you just slowly cut him up, like I'm going to do to you?" I smiled as I let the knife go a little into her throat, the blood coming instantly. " Did you make it nice and slow?" I screamed.

" I didn't do it!" She pleaded.

" Like you didn't kill Cashmere?" I screamed. " We are supposed to be a team!"

" Well I just thought that it would be a good time to break up, we were going to have to sooner to later!" She cried out.

" What about with my father?" I cried out. " He did nothing, we weren't even close to being done then!"

" He was just another liability." She smirked.

" Thank you." I laughed a little, finally getting the truth out of the bitch and digging the knife deep into her cheek. I was really just having fun now.

" You will pay for that one, lover girl!" She laughed under my body.

" In your-"

" Summer, watch out!" Marvel screamed, a sudden sting coming to my head.

" Told you, lover girl." Enorbaria smiled.

I fell to the ground and blacked out, right then and there. I felt weightless, though that maybe I was dead. I felt so warm and so different all wrapped into one. But I could feel someone dragging me along, could feel water around me. When I finally came to, my head was being washed in the water as Katniss looked down at me, smiling a little. She was humming some song as she washed out my hair, which was flowing all around me. I sort of waved at her as she looked down, still smiling as she went along and waved back at me, not saying a word though. Katniss seemed to be having too much of a good time, too much fun, so I just let her wash out all of my hair.

" You seemed to be doing a lot better, so Dad thought it would be good for you to get your hair washed, getting the blood all out." She smiled as she let me raise from the water.

" So you decided to play hair dresser?" I asked as I felt the rush coming to my head.

" Something like that." She laughed.

" Where are they?" I hissed, looking around for my jacket.

" Your weapons or the Shoore's or Dad and Marvel?" Katniss asked as she helped me to the shore.

" All three?" I asked, sitting on the sand.

" Your jacket is over there, all of your weapons are still in there. Caron and his mom ran away just as soon as district seven's kid hit you in the head with a branch or something. And Dad and Marvel are getting some wood for the fire." Katniss smiled as she slowly gave me my clothes " Marvel said something about not wanting to see you completely naked, just yet." She laughed as she said that.

" I'm going to kill her, you know." I smiled as I said it, I felt something inside lighting up.

" I've heard. So is Marvel." Katniss laughed as she helped me into the clothes.

" Where did you two leave to?" I asked as I looked around, there was still blood on the sand from where Cashmere had laid.  
>" We were hunting, trying to get food for all of us, that's when we heard the canon." She said as she shivered. " And we saw Cashmere's body go up in the sky."<p>

" It was terrible." I whispered. " One moment she

That's when Marvel came out of the woods, dropping all of his wood that he had in his hands, and wrapped all of his strength around me, bringing me in close to him as he kept saying how sorry he was. I felt an even deeper connection with him as he held me close to him, we were orphans now and we needed one another. We were going to destroy the murdered of our parents and we would do it together, no matter how long it would take. I smiled as he kissed from my eyes to my nose to my cheeks, all the way down to my neck, and then all the way back up, never once did he kiss my lips. I just giggled as he meet me eye to eye, I could see the fire in his eyes, the need and smiled. We were now a pact, a team.

That's when the next gift flew into the area, it was for me with something special inside. It was a gift from all of district four, something that we used for pearl hunting when the time was right. When it was time to go down deep into the water, we would take a pill to make us stay in the water for even longer, it was something that could help us breath underwater. I smiled as I pulled them out, knowing what Finnick wanted me to do. There was no note attached to it, there needed to tag to go along with it. He wanted me have the game come to me, where I needed it the most. There were quite a lot in the little container, meaning that he wanted me to share and that it would last a long time. All I could do was smile and bring in Marvel even closer to my body, we were going to kill this bitch on our own land.

" I have the perfect idea." I smiled as I looked around, nodding for Peeta and Katniss to move in.

We waited there for night to come, all of us having torches in hand. We would all move in different direction, bringing the fire along with us until we were about a mile away from the woods. When we got there we would all wait about a minute, waiting for the call to go out from one person to another, a little note that Katniss and Peeta knew from their district or something. It meant that we were ready and that we were safe. When all three of us would pitch in, we would start burning everything in sight, moving towards the water as we went. We would be brining the dinner home to us. Katniss and Peeta would stay out of the water as long as possible, shooting down everyone that came into the path from above and below. But if they were to see Caron or Enorbaria, let them come right into the water. They were ours.

I had already given out then pills, five to each of us, and made a bunch of shares made out of vines. Once they got into the water, when all four of us could not be above the water any longer. We would wait for anyone to come into the water for salvation and start to share them down deep into the water. Leaving them to drown to death as they came into it. Each one of us had four snares to use – one for each person that was left in the games besides us, I could hear the interviews going on as we speak. With a smile, I waved off the other three, one going in each direction. I could see it in the children's eyes, we were all pretty much in shock that we had come up with something like this, but Peeta, he looked pretty much calm and cold down to the core. Marvel going north, – or what we thought was north- Peeta east, Katniss west, and myself south.

I was the first to call off my noise, making it loud and clear as it went through the darkened clouds. Peeta was next, Marvel and Katniss calling off next. I could feel my heart inside of my throat as I left the fire scream through the vines and the forest as I ran through the woods. Everything started to lighten up the sky, the reds and yellows and oranges of the fire. I smiled as I saw it coming from all directions, the smell of the smoke already coming towards us. Fire was raging through all of the land, burning and spreading as it went, bringing all of the tributes towards us. I could see it from every direction, at the clearing I could see Katniss climbing up a small tree as she took out her bow and arrow, Peeta hiding behind a rock with Marvel's spear in hand. I choked down the pill and dove into the water, letting my fire go out in the water beside me as Marvel jumped in right behind me.

Thats when we all just waited right there, these pills could last for hours at a time without wearing off in the least and I know that Finnick would always pull the best out for me before sending them off like this. I smiled underwater as I showed Marvel all of the different ways to stay under and move quietly through the water. I smiled and tried so hard not to laugh as she moved around and tried to do what I was doing. Laughing would be a terrible idea to do underwater, no matter how much air you had from these things, it would almost all be wasted if you so much as chuckled out. Even worse, it could speed you out of the water, giving you the benzene and destroying your body. I saw it once back at home, there was no body left to bury. A canon fired. I could hear that there was something going on above land but could not give away our location. It was Katniss and Peeta's job to bring them to us, we were not supposed to come out unless it was to take another pill. It was completely dark now and I could not see anything above water, I could barely see Marvel right next to me.

We both looked around and saw that there were splashing feet in the water, I moved with no waves following behind as Marvel followed close behind and wrapped the noose around the kids leg without him even noticing, I could see already that it was covered in a bad burn, his pants were not attached to his legs. I smiled, letting the ice cold water come to my teeth as Marvel did the same to the young girl and we pulled them both under the water, wrapping out vines to a rock and swimming away from the kids as they struggled to try and get to the waterline, they never even saw us there. They were struggling so hard and it looked like the boy- district seven – was going to get out of the snare but soon passed out, letting a bubble of air out as he did. The girl from district eight soon died after. I could hear from above two canons go off.

I could feel that I did not have a lot of air left in my lungs, I moved towards the top of the water and took in a deep breath or air, though it was tainted with smoke and ash, I looked around to see Peeta sitting at the bottom of a tree, Katniss wrapped in his arms. She looked so small and so broken, I looked at Peeta and could tell something was wrong, she was not moving. That's when it hit me, the first canon was not from another tribute, it was of Katniss, she must have fallen out of the tree. I was just about to swim over to Peeta as an axe took off his head, Caron smiling as he jumped towards the water- towards me.


	16. Chapter 16

The gamekeepers were trying to make this end, now. Soon enough the sun was fully shinning, making it easier for Caron to see us from under the water, screwing us over even more then we already had been. Marvel seemed to not know what was going on when I dove under the water and started to pull him far down into the water, almost a full mile below the shoreline, where Caron could not meet up with us. As I pulled us close to a rock to hold onto, I could still see Peeta's head floating above like a small ball, no one had come to recover it yet.

Caron was now being accompanied by Enorbaria and they were both trying to get closer and closer to us with no success. I kept looking up at Caron and wondered why he was doing this now, we were supposed to be friends, real and true friends, I guess that we were just another part of the games to him. I started to swim away from the area with Marvel close behind, pulling him along rocks and small paths, getting as far away from the Shoore's as possible. I could see that Caron and his mother were getting gifts from above, things that would allow them to get us, things from their own district. I knew that we would have no more then a few minutes before they would be underwater with us.

I looked around and panicked, we were getting too close to the end of the water, there was a wall of rocks that was ahead of us and Caron and Enorbaria were coming from behind, swimming under with us. I could feel Marvel pulling on me tighter, trying to bring me behind his body, putting him in front of me. That's when it hit me, he was trying to keep me alive for as long as he could, I was the last thing that he had to live for. I could hear that they were coming, maybe a little more then a yard away now, as I looked around Marvel's frame though, I could see that there was also something different coming from around us. Something that should not be there.

She smiled as she looked around, looking from face to face, her eyes were glowing red, her hair black in the water. She looked a little like Katniss, a mixture of the Mockingjay and her own daughter, besides the eyes. But there was something different, this girl had scales all over her body, which had a soft green tint to it. When I kept looking at the girl something else started to pop from her, her gills. She was something that the gamekeepers had made because of me, a real life mermaid. But as she looked from face to face, she started to swim towards Caron and Enorbaria, as she started to sing, which I took as calling for more. I screamed a little as I swam as fast a I could for the shore, trying to get out of the water as I looked down, more and more coming from the unknown.

All females, all looking like the other tributes that had died. One even looked like a mixture of Cashmere and Marvel, who I was dragging along as he looked as his mother, who from her arm is a large spike coming from it. I pulled and pull, getting to the air and taking in a deep breath, but could not hear Marvel anywhere, I looked to see that she had him, the mermaid and dove for him. I did not know what to do, I looked tried to follow them under, seeing that she was bringing him to the bottom, her spike deep into his calf. I stuck my knife deep into her fresh time after time until she released Marvel, sending him slowly to the shore, a line of blood following after him, and she came for me. I moved quicker then Marvel, drabbing onto him and bringing him to shore, dragging him beside of me as we made it to shore, the mutt following behind.

" You. . . you came back for me?" Marvel asked, spitting up water.

" Of course, we are still a team, aren't we?" I smiled as I gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

" Of course." He smiled as we looked down at the water, which was now covered with a thick sheet of blood.

" You think that they will come back up?" I asked as I sat down in the sand with him.

" Doubt it." Marvel said as a canon when off. Three left now.

" You going to try and kill me when the other dies?" I asked, trying to see Caron or Enorbaria as a fish being speared.

" Doubt it." He groaned, the blood still coming from his leg. " Those thing must have something in them, I doubt it will stop bleeding for awhile." He whispered, the blood was turning red.

" A sponsor will give us something, they have to, just stop being such a big wimp." I smiled a little, knowing that he was bleeding out heavily though.

That's when it happened, just liked I said it would, a shoot coming from the sky and landing right next to us. It was to stop the bleeding to stop everything. I even laughed a little as I put it on him, as he just kept saying that I was a timekeeper and knew that it would happen like this. I used up everything I could on him as I could. I knew that he would be trying to do the same for me, trying to make sure that I would survive, he had just showed that. That's when the final canon went off, just as he stood up and picked up his spear.

" How we going to play this out, huh?" I asked, taking out my best hunting knife.

" I am not going to kill you, Summer. I love you." He said, throwing his spear at a tree.

" Then I wont kill you either." I dove my knife into the sand.

" You know that they wont have that again, you know what they will do." Marvel said, looking around, he knew that they had many, many more mutts around. Ready to go.

" Then let them bring them," I looked around " you hear me? We are ready for whatever you have coming for us!" I yelled, looking upward.

" Common." He said as he picked up my knife. " We better get going."

We knew where they would want us to go, back into the maze, back to where we had started. So we moved away from all of that, deeper and deeper into the woods, moving away from their games and just getting as much in as we could. We would stop every few yard and give one another a kiss, though we both could feel the connection starting to stretch and break, we would be dead before we knew it. The sun was going away from the sky, they were making it so dark that I could barely see what was in front of me, I could barely even see Marvel, who was directly on my side. That's when I heard it, the games prized possession from this year.

It was a mixture of a hiss and a deep growl, from a cat. I moved in close to Marvel as it sounded again, that's when I saw his deep eyes. They were in the shape of a cats, but blinked like something else. . . something completely different. They were deep green, shinning through the night. I could almost see it smile, a row of teeth shinning through the night with two sharp fangs, dripping with poison. Marvel was trying to pull me behind him, but I refused, he had already tried to risk his life for mine more then once today. It was time for me to return the favor. I pulled out another knife, pulling it out and looking at the creature.

" Common!" Marvel yelled, trying to pull me away from the creature.

" No, I'm done running." I yelled as the creature came from the trees and int other ground in front of me.

It stood tall, looking like a monster. It was a tiger or that is what it looked like. Bit there was something different about it as well. It's tongue came in and out of it's mother, hissing as it did it. It's eyes were still blinking in such an odd way. Though it's colors were still the same it had scaled as big as my hand instead of fur. It was a mixture. A tiger and a snake. Something so dangerous, something so terrible. I looked around for Marvel, but found that he was now going around the creature, trying to get behind it, the monster started to pace from me to him, thinking of which to try and take off first. My heart nearly stopped, it showed it's fangs again, almost smiling as he moved towards me. It was as quick as lighting as it stuck at me, something rattling from behind.

I stabbed and stabbed at the thing, trying to get away from it with all my force as it pinned me to the ground. It's paws were now clawing into me as it's tongue starting to flick at me. Loud noises coming from behind, something that was hitting the thing, that something was Marvel. The creature took a large bite out of me, the pain almost instantaneously as it moved for Marvel. I tried to scream, but I could almost feel that I was paralyzed. I could see that there was a cone like blackness coming slowly into my vision. I could hear all of the things that were going around me, but I could barely even keep my lungs moving. The venom that was coming through my veins because that monster. My heart was slowly getting the poison from my veins, I could actually feel it slowly.

I could feel that I was dying as I heard the screams from Marvel, loud and clear. But then again, I could hear myself screaming too. I used all of my might just to be able to look around at see that the monster had ripped off Marvel's arm. He was bleeding out barely as the monster was just walking away, climbing from tree to tree. I tried to turn away, wishing that I had never looked, as the monster left.

" Summer! Summer!" Marvel screamed, him crawling over to me. " Just stick in there, okay!" He asked.

" Marv. . ." Was all I could get out with a simple smile.

" Just hang in there okay? Just think about your sisters back at home? Just think about that boy, you have too much to just give up now. You have to fight, fight for me okay?" Marvel asked, nearly begging.

" You do. . ." I could barely get out anything, though the pain had subsides, I could barely move my own lips.

" I know, but. . . I'm just losing too much blood." He smiled. " You know that I love you, that Caron was just faking the whole time. He just jumped along with the whole thing when I said that I was in love with you, we had been talking about this since the moment that we met.

" You know that I think that I feel for you the moment that. . . from the moment that I saw you take place for that Odair girl. I think that I just knew that you were a fighter then, something that I had always had a liking to and well. . . I fell and hard at that." He just smiled. " I know that they did something to you, that you most likely can't even hear me right now, but. . . you are the victor." He whispered.

" I love you." I whispered, I could barely feel his lips being placed onto mine.

" I love you too." He whispered, holding back as a tear fell from his face and onto mine. " You make sure that you remember that when you go back to that Odair boy."

There was some form of silence, the gamekeepers most likely trying to come up with some other way to try and off us, but it was too late, I was fading and quick. I could feel Marvel using his last arm to hold onto me. I was going into a deep black as I heard something, it was loud and deep. It nearly crashed the ground with the noise. It was a canon, the final canon. I could feel myself smiling, Marvel had won, he would be going home to his family. I said my goodbyes to my friends and family as the blackness feel even deeper.

But there was a problem with dying, you should not wake up, and I did. I was in a hospital type of place and I just started to scream as loud as I could. I was in a deep panic as I looked around, feeling my whole body being strapped down to something and just screamed until someone came in. I could feel my own stomach, could see nothing but the wall in front of me. I refused to keep quite until I saw him, I saw that Finnick was in front of me and smiled at me. He looked tired, as if he had been up for days at a time with nothing but a hot cup of coffee to keep him awake, and I was most likely right. But it did not calm me down at all, knowing that I was alive because it meant that Marvel had died instead of me. Finnick took off the binds that were keeping me to the bed and just let me calm myself down.

" Where is he?" I asked, I think that this was called shock.

" He who?" He asked, looking a little confused.

" Marve! Where in the world is he? He is the victor, I'm dead, I died!" I cried out.

" Sum. . . he is dead." He whispered.

My mind was spinning around and around, I could barely keep my eyes open because my world around me was still spinning. I tried to hold on, tried to keep myself calm, but nothing seemed to work. I just cried and tried to keep my eyes shut tightly. I did not know why I was crying, I knew that if I was to win that Marvel would have to die. I had my mind so set tight on dying at the moment, I guess that I was just a little happy to know that Marvel would be winning. He had a family that he had to get back to as well, a family that needed him.

The viewing of the whole games was quick, they did not have very many things to show that did not have me in them, I had killed four of the twenty four, though I think that they put the Shoore's murders on me as well because I had lured them into the water, bringing my count all the way up to six. I had killed a full twenty-five percent of all of the people in the games, it was horrible to think about. I was so stunned on how I looked through the whole game, like a pure and cold hearted killer. I tried to not let it show though, I was still in the games in my mind, I could not show that there was no fear or anything.

Then they got to the final two, the point where it was just me and Marvel left. I tried to keep my eyes shut and just listen to the screams, but that did not work either. It hurt so much, I could feel myself gripping onto the chair that they had me in. the screams were so vivid and so up close. The sound of Marvel's arm being ripped from his body, so crunching. But there was something that they showed that I did not remember, not one bit. The mutation coming back. It came full attack for me, going for my mangled body which was started to seize, and had all of it's teeth ready for me and Marvel jumping in the way. He took the full bow of the monster as it swung him around like a little doll. Then all of a sudden it just let him go, showing where all of it's teeth were in the boys body and left. Marvel laying in his own blood as he just laid there and died, my body was now perfectly still, it was a game to see whose body could keep up. Then Marvel's canon sounded and it ended.

The interview was worse though. It was too many personal questions that were too pointed at everyone that I did not was to think about. They asked about Marvel and about Cashmere. About Katniss and Peeta. Everything that I wanted to just curl up into a ball about and cry. But then he asked about my father, who had died at the hands of my own friend's mother, or someone that I had thought to be a friend. I tried so hard to keep myself strong for that, knowing that people were watching, but I teared up, bringing everyone in the crowd and Cesar into tears along with me. That's when he asked about Caron and his mother which brought me straight into anger.

" I though that he was my friend, that he really cared for me, I guess that it was all a lie." I hissed.

" Did you really think that he cared for you?" He asked.

" I guess that we had at least been friends, that there was something deep in there that was between us. But I guess that I was just making it up." I shrugged.

" Well he had all of us here fooled as well." Cesar said lightly.

" Tell me, how did you take it though, when you saw that your love die?" He asked.

" I really don't remember anything about it. I just remember being so out of it." I shrugged.

" Because of the mutation?" He asked.

" Yes." I whispered. " All I know is that his life was taken away from him in a way that should not happen in the games, it was taken by a monster." The cut off the interview right after that.

They made the train ride as quickly as possible. I now know how Annie felt when she one the games; helpless. There was nothing I could do but keep my body wrapped into itself and stay in my room, not eating anything at all. Finnick tried to get me to eat something, anything, but there was really nothing that could happen. I wanted everyone who I had watched die. There was only one other person that I wanted to be helping me through this and he was standing right there in the front of the line of people when we got to our train area. I did not even act as happy as most do when I got the the area with people clapping and cheering, I just stood there and smiled, before I ran off of the stage and right into Peeta's arms.

" Common, let's go home." He whispered into my ear.

" Stay with me?" I asked.

" Always." He whispered into my ear.


	17. Chapter 17

Peeta took me back to my old home, which had been deemed to be my house now, where my sisters were waiting for me. They had been told that I would be able to take care of them until they could grow up on their own. For awhile I refused to do anything without Peeta being by my side, paranoia taking over my whole body and knowing that anything could happen to everyone else that I loved. Peeta made sure that no matter what time of day that it was, that he was right by my side. Most of the time, when I was not taking care of my sisters, what little I really did to take care of them, we were at the beach. It was the one place that I felt comfortable still being at, though not in the water; I still thought that there could be some mutts in there.

Once we turned eighteen, the capitol made us marry one another to show that a victor could be very happy after the games. It was all live, to show the people in the capitol and it was showed throughout all of the districts as well. Peeta and I did not care that we were being filmed, we were really happy to be married, to be with one another, we were the face of the capitol for now. We did have our own traditional wedding soon after that, everyone in our area came out at some point through the day to say their congratulations and to wish us the best as a married couple, though some were very upset with me, they kept most of it inside. I started to feel more and more safe as the days went by until the next games would come along, when both Finnick and I would be going back to train others to fight to the death.

But the day never came, we were never forced into that because the revolution was knocking at our door. Rebels from District 13 came in and took over almost as quickly as the games came to us. We were all set free from the bounds that were around us, though the wounds never really healed. Katniss Everdeen became the voice for our people, with some help from the – I would have to call it magic – healing of District 13, she regained her voice to tell her story to the whole. Peeta and I said that we would never have kids, we both though that we would just never want them. Spring married and so did Autumn as the years when by, both having kids almost directly after that, bringing beautiful nieces and nephews into the world for me to play around with, but both Peeta and I said no.

As the years when by though, it just happened one day, I found out that I was having not one- but two little boys. We decided that we would name them after the two people that had my back throughout the games, my father Heal Finnick and my best friend and love through the games, Marvel Caron. It did not take a lot of convincing for Peeta to go along with the names, I still do not understand how though, but he smiled and said anything that worked for me worked for him. It was one of the happiest days of my lief to see Finnick and Annie have grandkids, to see Peeta hold my boys in his arms, to know that my father was watching from above. But they were not the only ones, Peeta does not know yet, but we are expecting our third now.

My boys like to play games of war, they are young and only have heard little things about the great war through school, though they are too young to know that much about it. They run along the sides of the beach playing around and making noises, sometimes Peeta and I play along as well, being generals of soldiers from the other side. It gives me chills, thinking about being back at war with someone, having to kill. But, I still like playing war with my boys, knowing that they will come back alive and well, because as we all know, they are worse games to be playing.

**The End.**


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